human-powered transport
Bike Co-Op Eliminates Pollution In Local Delivery
Pedal Express uses cargo bikes to deliver mail and goods to residents and businesses in Berkeley, California.

Dave Block

In the early 1900s, cargo bikes were the main means of carrying goods locally for many grocers, plumbers, bakers and other merchants in the U.S. While they developed a strong presence in Europe and Asia that continues today, the automobile nearly phased them out in this country, where they are mostly used in warehouses and factories. Recently, however, there have been signs of a small renaissance, as nonmotorized cargo companies are making deliveries in Santa Cruz, California; Eugene, Oregon; Boulder, Colorado; and New York City. Others are in the planning stages.

One company demonstrating the viability of this alternative delivery system is Pedal Express in Berkeley, California. In 1994, a few members of Auto Free Bay Area, a bicycle advocacy group, took a trip to the Center for Appropriate Transport in Eugene, Oregon to test out some of the human-powered vehicles it manufactures. The experience further excited them about the prospect of starting their own business, and Pedal Express soon was born.

COOPERATIVE DELIVERY BUSINESS

The cooperative business has four worker-owners and several riders employed on an hourly basis. Employees generally ride 15 to 20 hours each week. Founded on the principle of zero pollution delivery, Pedal Express uses no motorized vehicles in its operations. The company even requires its riders to come to work on foot or bicycle. “We have moved our office several times, and even used bikes to do that,” says Bhima Scheridan, a Pedal Express owner.

Scheridan became involved with the company two years ago. He had been working part-time for Bicycle Friendly Berkeley Coalition, which shared an office with Pedal Express. “I thought it was a great idea to combine my love of bicycling with helping to spare the air and our environment, and make some money at same time,” he explains.

To become an owner, workers must complete six months and 360 hours of riding with the company, which generally coincide. Each buys a share in the business for $750, which is refundable when leaving the company. Owners comprise the board of directors for Pedal Express’ corporation, Human Propelled Solutions Cooperative, Inc., running the business by informal consensus.

“The cooperative structure is a guiding principle of the business,” says Scheridan. “We all believe in the idea that everyone should have equal pay for equal work. We rotate duties like billing and payroll; if one person is out sick, anything can be covered. Everyone feels more motivated when they know they’re an owner of the business. It’s difficult, though to find other people interested in becoming owners without making a lot of money. They really have to be committed to the business and the principles we uphold.”

Both owners and workers are paid $10/hour after spending six months with the business. Last year, the practice began of distributing three-quarters of leftover income to the owners at the end of the year. A small portion of those funds are held in a bank account to facilitate cash flow; owners receive that share if and when they leave the business. Twenty-five percent of profits are put back into the business directly. “Nobody is making a killing,” Scheridan admits. “We’re all pretty young and can afford to live frugally. It’s an ideal job for someone just out of high school or college to gain some valuable small business skills while staying in shape and getting involved in an environmentally minded organization. It took a lot of initial time, energy and low pay to get the business to the point where it can attract people and pay a decent wage.”

LOCAL SERVICE

Pedal Express delivers within Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville and North Oakland, serving 25 to 35 customers each day. It is difficult to compete with mainstream delivery and the predominant business attitude that ignores the environmental costs of motorized vehicles, but the company has been able to pull it off without government or foundation subsidies. One of the advantages it can tout is avoidance of traffic jams. “I think the Berkeley/Oakland area is pretty receptive to our type of business,” says Scheridan. “More people understand the overall benefits. We have never lost a client due to our service — nobody has tried us and decided to switch. The difficult part is convincing someone to give us a chance. One technique we use is to offer the same or lower rate as the mainstream rate to get someone started with us, then bring them up to the regular rate as we prove our reliability. Nobody has ever had a problem with that.”

Pedal Express’s fleet of bikes enables it to deliver a wide variety of cargo, including some large items such as a stove. The cargo bikes are based on designs used in Europe since the 1920s. Two long-haul bikes, and a smaller version called an express bike, have front-end boxes that can carry up to 200 pounds. A (three-wheeled) trihauler has a flatbed that theoretically can carry up to 800 pounds, but is used for 500 pounds at most. A third long-haul bike will be purchased soon. A variety of trailers can be attached to the bikes and saddlebags also carry items. Riders sometimes use their personal bikes for deliveries in the hills.

Many customers are companies with post office boxes that avoid sending employees to fight traffic for mail pick up. “We charge $3 to $5 per day for that, which is a great deal when you consider that depending on the company’s location, it can take them a good hour to get their mail,” says Scheridan. “They have to deal with traffic congestion, risk getting a ticket — Berkeley is notorious for having aggressive meter maids — and stand in line. Mail pickup would be costing the company between $10 to $30 an hour. The pay rate for workers compensation must be based on an employee’s riskiest activity. We take the risk out of mail pick up for our customers.” Pedal Express also handles interoffice deliveries and brings mail to the post office past the last pick up time in a given area so customers can send things out at the last minute. It handles up to 10,000 pieces of mail daily.

BOOKSTORE, COMMUNITY GARDEN

The business established a partnership to handle local deliveries for Cody’s, an independent bookstore. Both companies split marketing costs to publicize the service, which began in late 1998. Same-day delivery is available for calls made by 11 a.m. The charge is $4 for the first book and 50 cents for each additional one. Rush orders received before 4 p.m. cost $7.50 for up to four books and $10 for five or more. Pedal Express delivered 20 books to Cody’s customers in May. “It’s cheaper and quicker than Amazon.com,” notes Scheridan. “We really want to help local independent bookstores survive. Since we’re already circulating around the city several times a day, the deliveries often fall within our routes.”

Another of Pedal Express’ favorite customers is Berkeley Youth Alternative (BYA), a local nonprofit youth group that grows and markets organic vegetables on a half-acre community garden for income and school credit. Pedal Express makes deliveries ranging from snap peas to Jerusalem artichokes within 24 hours of picking to more than 30 Berkeley homes each week. The charge is $3 to $6 per produce box. The open bed of the trihauler is well suited for stacking rectangular containers and has held 18 large boxes at one time.

“As the organic produce business got started, some residents said they were interested, but didn’t have a way to pick up their boxes,” says Danny Engelberg, garden and nutrition coordinator for BYA. “We didn’t have the resources to make deliveries, and we also wanted to be able to accommodate customers in a way that kept in line with our mission of being a model of sustainability — use of local resources and supporting the community from within. It’s worked great. It’s a dramatic sight to see the bicycles loading up big carts of produce with vegetables and flowers hanging out.”

The program offers a diversion to high school youth, keeps them off the streets and teaches them teamwork and valuable business skills. “Then we come into the picture and deliver the vegetables without polluting the air,” says Scheridan. “When you think about it, how many things in life come with no pollution in the process? Consumers get locally grown, fresh organic vegetables without going to the grocery store, and the money stays locally.”

Pedal Express is helping to start the Bay Area Youth and Schools Transportation and Education Program. A brief curriculum will bring riders into schools to talk about transportation choices — including walking and public transit — and their environmental impacts. Grants are being sought to purchase human-powered vehicles. “This will provide information on the effects of automobiles on our lives,” explains Scheridan. “A framework will enable students to evaluate their transportation choices and make decisions based on all of the available information, not just the cultural bombardment that driving a car is the only way to go.”