Ride along: Amazon expands delivery e-bikes across Brooklyn and Manhattan
Local businesses, including Juan Martinez’s operation, have partnered with Amazon to hire and train drivers.
Hundreds of Amazon packages are now making their way across Brooklyn on electric-assisted bikes.
Twice a day, riders like Tommy Gorman head out rain or shine, navigating neighborhoods from Red Hook to Downtown Brooklyn and the Navy Yard.
Local businesses, including Juan Martinez’s operation, have partnered with Amazon to hire and train drivers.
Martinez said his business started small and has grown to 120 employees, managing both e-bikes and electric vans.
Electric-assisted vehicles are designed to be carbon neutral and help reduce traffic congestion, Martinez said.
But not all cyclists are happy about sharing the streets. Many of them are sharing their frustrations on social media.
Transportation Alternatives, a transportation advocacy group, says the city needs to adapt as more e-cargo bikes hit the roads.
“We need to ensure that we have much wider bike lanes, more protected bike lanes, and more bike boulevards, just to ensure that everyone has the space and ability to get around safely on a bike,” said Alexa Sledge, a spokesperson for the organization.
