E-Assisted Delivery

Have you seen one of these making Amazon deliveries yet?

They make so much sense.

These little four-wheeled, e-cargo vehicles are now pedaling all around the NYC neighborhood where I live (Flatiron NOMAD).

They are manufactured by a German company, MUBEA in partnership with Hudson Steel Corporation here in the US.

What makes them so sensible?

They don't have to pay the congestion charge.

They can use the bike lane so don't cause (or be delayed by) traffic.

They are very-low emission relative to alternatives, like trucks.

I spoke with one of the drivers about whether it is difficult to use pedal-power for delivering boxes this way. He said the power-assisted pedal takes much of the effort out, and that it is no more difficult to pedal one of these fully loaded than a regular bicycle.

Neat.

I still have some doubts about the drones, but when I see one of these coming down my street I recognize it's the future arriving with a delivery. And it's not as bad as they say.