Canada Post hauls mail with new wheels as e-trikes replace trucks on mail routes
Canada post is testing out a new, greener delivery method to serve customers while reducing traffic -- especially with the extra deliveries due to online shopping during the pandemic.
The solution? Electric cargo trikes.
Michael Melanson pedals hundreds of parcels per day with the aid of some battery back-up.
His e-trike has different settings to help haul the load.
“I keep it in 'tour' or 'sport mode', and use the 'turbo mode' when going up hills,” he said. “It gives me that extra bit of assistance.”
That extra bit of assistance helps ease the back-breaking work -- Melanson estimates he's pulling almost 500 pounds when fully loaded with mail.
Still, he prefers peddling over driving.
“There's just too much traffic on the road as it is, so it's nice to do something a bit more environmentally friendly, more green,” he said.
“One of the issues that major urban city centres experience is downtown urban congestion, and we know that Canada Post contributes to that,” said Sally Dam, Director of Urban Delivery Strategy.
“You've seen trucks on the side of the road blocking the traffic. So, an interesting solution that we want to test is with these electric cargo cycles.”
Canada Post is not the first to try electric delivery.
Purolator tested similar electric trikes last year and has since rolled them out in three cities, with Montreal being the first in Canada.
Canada Post says it's investing in technology to reduce its carbon footprint.
“We know that Canadians find that the environment is really important to them,” said Dan.
“So, because we are such a large, national organization, we have the opportunity to take on more of a leadership role.”
Melanson says the program started out with six volunteers, and two more have just joined.
He says people are happy to see him coming on the new wheels.
“It's kind of meditative as you're cycling,” he said.
“It's fun because people are always waving at us saying ‘oh look, Canada Post has an e-trike!’ so it's really quite fun.”
They may be fun and functional, but only until October. The e-trikes don’t have winter tires -- at least, not yet.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.