Uber Eats launches e-cycles for delivery in Sri Lanka

Uber Eats, Sri Lanka’s food and grocery delivery platform, on Thursday brought on board 100 electric cycles on its platform.

The e-cycles launched as ‘Voltage Edition’ are manufactured by Lumala, the country’s largest cycle manufacturer, and have been especially designed for deliveries. They have a range of up to 100 km and top speed of up to 30 km per hour.

The e-cycles can cover longer distances than regular bicycles and are easier to maintain than traditional motorbikes. The cycle battery charges in 4 hours; this makes delivery downtime minimum and reduces expenses versus fuel costs. By making it easier to cover a bigger delivery distance radius with lesser effort, delivery partners will be able to potentially make more deliveries and earn more. The initiative is a step forward towards Uber Eats’ global vision of moving all trips to sustainable mobility by 2040, the company said in a media release.

The announcement was made at an event where Uber Eats sponsored e-cycles worth Rs.42 million for 100 most engaged delivery partners where 90 of these delivery partners were previously using petrol-powered motorbikes while the other 10 were using regular bicycles. The company will also facilitate a 30 per cent discount on the purchase of Lumala e-cycles and 15 per cent discount on spare parts for delivery partners on its platform.

Attending the event, Power & Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, for Sri Lanka, said, “Technology-led platforms led a paradigm shift by changing the way people move or order food online. Now, they should focus on another big change by promoting green mobility. We need to reduce dependency on fuel and lower our carbon emissions”

Uber Eats had introduced cycle deliveries last year to reduce fuel dependency for delivery partners during the economic crisis. Today, cycle deliveries account for 10 per cent of total deliveries for Uber Eats in Sri Lanka.

Commenting on the announcement, Mike Orgill, Senior Director, Public Policy & Government Relations, Asia Pacific Region at Uber, said, “We’re committed to Sri Lanka and are continually bringing the best that Uber Eats has to offer to the country. After becoming the first platform to introduce cycle deliveries, we’re onboarding customised e-cycles today in line with our global vision to move to sustainable mobility by 2040. We will soon add e-scooters and e-motorbikes for deliveries as part of our efforts to promote sustainable mobility in the country.”

The Voltage edition e-cycles have been custom designed to compete with electric scooters and motorbikes. They are capable of covering 100+ km on pedal assist on a single charge and can travel 60+ km.