adpapa Editor
11 September 2021
According to Statista, over 2 billion people purchased goods and services online in 2020. Online shopping and delivery services have significantly increased in just the past year, especially due to the pandemic. Deliveries have become essential for consumers and especially for businesses. In fact, incorporating a delivery service is becoming a popular small business strategy.
To keep up with the increasing demand for deliveries and to avoid high costs, retailers, fast foods, restaurants, and online delivery services are slowly turning to electric scooter delivery. E-scooters have recently gained popularity as an efficient and affordable transport option. Now, e-scooters are also being used as a quick delivery option.
For businesses who are looking to add or improve their home delivery service, using electric scooters is one untapped option that you can explore.
How you can use e-scooters for delivery
1. Quick food delivery services
Food delivery scooters are slowly increasing in food delivery services. You can often find them being used as delivery transports for Uber Eats and the like. In fact, Deliveroo has teamed up with a local e-scooter rental firm to provide its food delivery drivers in London to rent e-scooters hourly.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, food delivery service foodpanda welcomed e-scooter riders into their pool of delivery drivers to provide fast and convenient deliveries, as well as provide income opportunities in communities. So, using an electric scooter will not only benefit businesses but also those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
2. Light courier services
On the other hand, electric scooters can also be used as a courier transport option. Scooter delivery services can take care of the lighter items and cover nearby distances.
For delivery services, e-scooters will offer a fast and convenient way to deliver small parcels and allow larger vehicles to deliver heavier items to farther destinations. Long-range electric scooters are also a good option for further deliveries. Overall, with more transport options, courier services can manage deliveries better and faster.
Why you should consider e-scooters as a delivery transport option
1. Fast and efficient
One of the advantages of using e-scooters is that deliveries can reach their destinations faster. After all, delivery riders take footpaths, bike lanes, and other alternate routes, which means they don’t have to sit and wait for traffic. When it comes to deliveries, time is essential and time is money.
A Transport Policy Journal research stated that drivers spend 28% of their time looking for a parking space. However, with e-scooters, problems such as finding a parking space and getting stuck in traffic are eliminated. It will save more time for delivery riders and more money for businesses.
2. Affordable
Although a decent $800 e-scooter is still a hefty price for some people, electric scooters are still generally more affordable compared to buying a car, van, or motorcycle. In fact, some businesses and courier services partner with e-scooter rentals and firms to rent or buy a fleet of e-scooters.
Often, e-scooter rentals and firms offer packages for businesses, making it more affordable to buy a bunch of e-scooters.
Aside from the initial price, e-scooters are low maintenance and do not need fuel to run. So, you immediately eliminate large maintenance costs, fuel costs, and parking fees to your overall operational cost. With e-scooters, businesses can get more for less.
3. Eco-friendly
One of the reasons why e-scooters have gained massive popularity is their eco-friendliness. Since e-scooters don’t need fuel, they do not emit harmful gases such as carbon dioxide. For businesses, e-scooters are a good delivery transport option if you are trying to go green.
Aside from this, e-scooters are fairly quiet. After all, they don’t have loud engines that hurt the ears when speeding up. This makes e-scooters better delivery transport options in residential areas. In addition, having a greener delivery transport option also improves a business’ corporate image. Overall, e-scooters offer a more eco-friendly way of delivering food or parcels.
4. Space-saving
One problem that electric scooters help solve is parking space. If you’re a small business that wants to have their own delivery service but doesn’t have the parking space for a few motorcycles, then an electric scooter is a great option.
After all, an e-scooter is slim and compact enough to fit a narrow space. In fact, you can fit several e-scooters in one car parking slot or you can store them inside your shop. The great thing about e-scooters is their portability. So, you can carry, bring, and store an e-scooter anywhere.
More than just a scooter
With the recent development of e-scooters, these new micro-mobility devices have proven to be more than just electric kick scooters. E-scooters are not only convenient as a commuting alternative but also as a transport option for quick delivery and courier services.
Electric scooter delivery is an area that is rarely tapped by businesses, but it offers a promising venture for entrepreneurs. Because of the e-scooter’s efficiency, affordability, and small size, e-scooters offer versatility when it comes to their usage.
