Portland Pedal Power is founded on the belief that bikes are a sustainable, efficient and effective way to connect local businesses. With 10 years of experience under our belts, we decided to take a look at the proof points for our founding principles.
Bikes are sustainable:
This one is pretty easy to prove. Cars emit carbon and bikes do not. But the real impact is when more and more businesses choose to have their food delivered by bike instead of by car. In 2018, Portland Pedal Power riders pedaled nearly 29,000 miles or the equivalent of 10 bike trips from Portland to New York City. This effectively saved nearly 29 tons of carbon from being emitted enough to power five homes or six-passenger vehicles for an entire year.
We’re on track to ride even more miles in 2019 and are excited to see how much we can offset this year!
Bikes are effective:
Reducing the carbon impact is valued by our customers but they also need their food to be delivered hot, fresh and on time. We’re very committed to delivering on this promise. And we succeed. In 2019, Portland Pedal Power has a 97% on-time delivery rate. We consider an order on time when it arrives to our customer in the “delivery window” of 15 minutes before to 5 minutes after the scheduled delivery time.
Because we are able to leverage Portland’s robust bike infrastructure (and because our riders are seasoned and know the ins and outs of navigating central Portland) we are often able to avoid the traffic slowdowns that plague vehicles. And our bikes are legally allowed to be parked on Portland’s sidewalks (always ensuring we are not blocking pedestrians, of course) meaning that we are not hindered by needing to hunt for elusive parking spaces.
The bikes are not the only reason for PPP’s stellar on-time delivery rate. We have a highly skilled team of riders and customer service professionals and a tailored list of reliable (and delicious) vendor partners that also contribute to our operational successes. But the bikes are a key element.
Bikes are efficient:
Whether you think the PPP bikes are a design masterpiece or an eyesore, there is no denying that they stand out. The bikes are designed to be aerodynamic as well provide maximum carrying capacity. One bike can carry enough food to feed 80 people. With a trailer attached to the back of the bike, we can feed up to 150 people using just one bike. That’s more food than most passenger vehicles can carry.
We’re looking forward to using the PPP bikes for an even greater impact moving forward. If you have any thoughts or comments on this, we’d love to hear from you!
