If you’re in New York City these days, you might spot a unique sight on the streets. Amazon has recently rolled out a new type of delivery vehicle that’s making waves both on the streets and online. It’s not every day you see cargo bikes like these, especially coming from a company as big as Amazon. Known for its massive trucks carrying countless customer packages, Amazon is now introducing a new delivery vehicle to the mix. Things are about to change as the tech giant adds these innovative bikes to its fleet.
These cargo bikes are human-powered and don’t require a driver’s license to operate. This is because the bikes are limited to a top speed of 15 mph, classifying them as bicycles under city regulations. The primary goal of this initiative is to reduce traffic congestion and emissions caused by large trucks, particularly in a dense city like New York. In fact, the New York City Department of Transportation has even granted these e-cargo bikes access to commercial loading zones for parking, further facilitating their use in the urban landscape.
Although these e-cargo bikes may seem like a recent innovation, Amazon has actually been planning to roll them out for several years. However, the launch hasn’t been entirely smooth, with various challenges along the way. One rumor even suggests that an employee accidentally tipped over one of the bikes during training, highlighting some of the growing pains involved in the rollout. Despite these setbacks, Amazon remains committed to introducing this new form of delivery.
While the sight of these e-cargo bikes may seem intriguing, not everyone is impressed. “Tech bros finally reinvented the rickshaw,” one Redditor quipped. Others pointed out that such delivery vehicles are quite common in other countries, which is true as the adoption of e-cargo bikes has been slower in the U.S. “They’ve been used in the Netherlands for years now. They’re battery-assisted and make perfect sense in a gridlocked city where only bicycles can move,” another user commented.
Some have expressed appreciation for Amazon’s move to use e-cargo bikes. After all, the streets of New York are already filled with cars, trucks, and traffic. “Quiet. Clean. Small. Makes sense for the city,” one user commented. Others hope that this new vehicle will stick around and that the government will support it by maintaining and adding more bike lanes.
A handful of users expressed concerns about the e-cargo bikes, noting that delivery drivers might become lazy and block bike lanes when parking. “Part of me likes this idea, and part of me knows they’ll just park and block the bike lanes…” one user commented.
