The City of Ekurhuleni has formed a partnership with e-micro mobility company to explore innovative modes of non-motorized transportation using e-bicycles to support entrepreneurs in the delivery and logistics business. The non-motorised transportation programme is called Green Riders.
On Friday, 07 October, 2022, the city hosted the round table discussion on the introduction of e-bicycles in Germiston, under the theme “Decarbonising the last mile of E-commerce logistics in the Transport Month”.
The city’s Head of Department for Economic Development Caiphus Chauke, speaking during the round table discussion said: the city has partnered with E-micro mobility to provide 50 e-bicycles to young ambitious entrepreneurs from across the city to pilot the project in the city. The identified entrepreneurs will go through extensive E-bicycle handling training, road safety mechanism as well as the business model training before hitting the road in December 2022.
Chauke further said the purpose of this intervention by the city is to help create or improve job opportunities for entrepreneurs in the city.
“E-bicycle is the future of transportation. The dark period of COVID-19 exposed an existing gap for the convenience brought about by the usage of delivery motorbikes for the delivery of household goods such as groceries, fast foods and medication. Therefore, this is a potential game changer for our entrepreneurs in the delivery and logistics space,” Chauke said.
In addition, the city’s fully fledged non-motorized transport (NMT) infrastructure is well equipped to handle the movement of e-bicycles across the city.
The e-bicycle operator does not require a licence or permit to operate. The e-bicycle can operate on the NMT dedicated lanes and on the shared road. It is made of aluminium steel for wear and tear. It is battery operated and can travel up to 120km with a high speed of 30km per hour for the safety of the rider. It is fitted with advanced technology tracker system as a safety feature against theft.