Domino’s to start delivering pizzas by electric bicycle after successful pilot

Electric bikes aren’t just for fun. Sometimes they are for serious work. You know, like delivering pizzas. That’s what Domino’s will be doing with them as they prepare their e-bike delivery fleet in the US made up of customized RadCity Step-Thru electric bicycles.

In the United States, Domino’s has traditionally made the vast majority of its food deliveries with gas-powered cars.

But now the company is going electric — at least with electric bicycles.

Delivery e-bikes working for Domino’s

Domino’s ran a broad pilot program to test delivery e-bikes in a variety of diverse markets ranging from Texas to New York to Florida. Throughout the pilot, they found that using delivery e-bikes resulted in faster deliveries and higher customer satisfaction — not to mention the fuel savings, of course.

The delivery e-bikes used by Domino’s are modified versions of the RadCity Step-Thru from Rad Power Bikes. The bikes have been customized to support the delivery needs of Domino’s pizza drivers — err, riders.

As described by Domino’s:

“The e-bikes, which have small integrated motors to assist with pedaling, can run for 25 to 40 miles (40-65 km) depending on the user, before needing a recharge.  Domino’s custom e-bikes include front and rear insulated soft-sided cargo areas, which can hold Domino’s Heatwave bags, drinks, sides, and dipping cups. One e-bike can hold up to 12 large pizzas. The bikes are equipped with lights in the front and back, reflective materials for driver safety, and have a top assisted speed of 20 mph (32 km/h).”

Domino’s found during their trial that the locations that switched to delivery by e-bike saw quicker delivery times and higher service scores.

Additionally, some locations that had been using standard bicycle delivery found that the Rad Power delivery e-bikes saw an increase in team member satisfaction. Basically, delivery riders preferred having electric-assist instead of delivering pizzas on muscle alone. No surprise there!

Now that Domino’s has proven that delivery e-bikes work in various test markets, the pizza chain is expanding the service nationwide.

According to Rad Power Bike’s sales manager Brian Rinckenberger:

“We built a tailored delivery solution for Domino’s that is setting an exciting example for how ebikes can be used to benefit business efficiency and employee satisfaction. We’re proud that the partnership with Domino’s, which began with one franchise owner in Seattle several years ago, is now expanding nationwide.”

Electrek’s Take

This makes a whole lot of sense to me. We’ve talked about how great cargo e-bikes are for commercial applications before. And the RadCity Step-Thru isn’t even a true cargo bike, though it can become one with Rad’s accessory line.

While I’ve reviewed a number of models from Rad Power Bikes, including the RadMini Step-Thru, RadRover, and RadWagon, the bike used by Domino’s is one of the few I haven’t had the chance to try out yet.

But if the others are any indication, the RadCity is more than capable of handling the rigors of pizza delivery.

I’d love to see more companies following Domino’s lead.

Domino’s isn’t only using personal electric vehicles for delivery in the US. They’re going electric around the world. Where I live in Tel Aviv, Domino’s uses high speed, battery swapping electric scooters from Blitz Motors to make deliveries quicker and quieter than the conventional gas scooters that buzz around the city.

These are the kinds of trips that are perfect for such small, lightweight, and efficient electric vehicles. And the more little EVs whisking around pizzas, the less we’ll all have to suffer from the noise and smell of gas scooters as well as traffic from cars.

Man, I’m hungry now. I think I might order some pizza…