Deliveries with electric bikes grow, and fleets exceed 7,000 vehicles

The use of electric bicycles for deliveries in Brazil has gained strength in the last two years, driven by initiatives by two companies with different profiles: the century-old state-owned Correios and iFood, a delivery application created in the last decade. The way in which bikes are offered to employees is also quite different.

In November of this year, Correios held an auction to buy 5,946 electric bicycles with trunk, which will be delivered from March 2023. With this, the company hopes to have the largest fleet of this type of vehicle in the country.

“The use of this new bicycle optimizes distribution time, brings comfort and practicality to drivers and, above all, contributes to the sustainability of operations”, said Correios, in a note.

The state company has been testing the electric ones since last year. There was a pilot in Brasília (DF) and another in Praia Grande (SP), with around 30 bikes each.

The models were improved based on suggestions from postmen, who will use them for day-to-day deliveries. Each unit has a trunk and can carry 20 kg of cargo. Autonomy is 30 km per recharge, reaching 45 km.

At iFood, electric bicycles are rented to couriers registered on the platform, which handle orders for food, grocery shopping and other items.

The program started in 2020 and totals 7 million deliveries made, 18 thousand registered couriers, 2,500 bicycles and operations in six cities: São Paulo (SP), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Salvador (BA), Recife (PE), Porto Alegre (RS) and Brasilia.

“A good part of the orders are in short delivery radius, and it doesn’t make sense to use a motorcycle”, says Fernando Martins, director of logistics at iFood. Bike deliveries are made over distances of up to 5 km, depending on terrain conditions.

Martins says that users are generally younger than motorcycle riders and are between 18 and 24 years old. “Most of these couriers are using the platform to generate their first income. Some study and supplement their income in their spare time”, he says.

“With this bike here, the hills look like a straight street”, praises David Anastasia, 40. He’s been on the program since the beginning and has tested every model ever used.

Anastasia talked to Sheet at one of the project’s headquarters, a shed with hundreds of bicycles on Rua Cardeal Arcoverde, in Pinheiros. There, the delivery men pick up and return the bikes. Each loan costs between R$1.99 and R$3.98 for four hours. You also need to pay a weekly fee of BRL 32 for the full plan.

In the beginning, the bikes used by the program were the same as those of the Bike Itaú system. “They were good, but when the battery ran out, they became very heavy. There were deliverymen who even hurt their tendons, because they are ultra-heavy”, he recalls.

Then came a lighter model, but with other flaws. “The chain is loose all the time. We would get to the customers with our hands dirty with grease. And the tire was thin, it would burst. We were left in our hands”, he says.

The current generation, adopted a few months ago, pleases the delivery person: it is light, has robust tires and better battery life.

Questioned about the flaws pointed out, Tembici, which supplies the vehicles for iFood, said in a note only that the program considers “all the needs of the delivery person”.

Each delivery usually pays R$ 6 for the cyclist. iFood puts in incentives, such as giving an extra R$3 or R$4 per delivery if the worker reaches a target or works in times of high demand. “They do promotions when it’s raining, when it’s freezing cold”, says Anastasia.

“You can earn well, making an average of R$ 80 to R$ 100 per day. Up to R$ 150 if the guy stretches”, he says.

Questioned about the fact that the company rents work equipment to its employees, unionist Gilberto Santos said he did not see a problem.

“The program is positive because it becomes one more tool for the worker to have access to a work tool and to have more people in the delivery market”, evaluates him, who presides over SindimotoSP (Union of Messengers, Motorcyclists, Cyclists and Moto-Taxi Drivers of São Paulo).

“We still need to settle the remuneration within a collective agreement, so that workers can work in a more dignified way”, continues Santos.

On the labor issue, iFood said that “all couriers have autonomy and flexibility to carry out the work and are free to choose the modal and the time dedicated to one or more platforms to generate gains.”

The adoption of electric bikes is part of Correios and iFood’s strategy to reduce the pollution generated by deliveries. In addition to not polluting the air, the models are also silent, which helps to reduce noise in the city. It is common to see motorcycles with open exhaust making a lot of noise when accelerating.

Daniel Guth, director of Aliança Bike (Brazilian Association of the Bicycle Sector), points out that the cost of electric bicycles has been decreasing in recent years, especially due to reductions in the tax burden, and that business initiatives help to lower prices.

“The more demand there is, the cheaper it will be. Today there are entry-level electric bikes, with reasonable technology, starting at R$ 3,000”, he assesses.