Swiggy delivers over 1.5 million orders a month on cycles, encourages electric vehicles

Two years ago, Swiggy took a leap towards sustainable development by encouraging more mechanical cycles for its fleet. The move also had the added benefit of enabling more riders in becoming a part of Swiggy’s delivery fleet.

Delivery partners swear by the swift movement, smooth navigation, mobility and fitness benefits of riding cycles. Additionally, cycle delivery partners are assigned to short-distance deliveries, which enables quick completion of orders.

After encouraging the usage of mechanical bicycles to a sizable percentage of its fleet, Swiggy is taking a meaningful step to once again disrupt the food delivery space by encouraging the use of Electric Vehicles (EVs) for its delivery partners. In line with the company’s persistent efforts to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly for the future, Swiggy announced that it is piloting EVs in 10 cities across the country.

Considered to be one of the most sustainable forms of transportation, EVs have zero emissions, lower carbon footprint and require minimum maintenance. Additionally, they lower the running cost of the vehicles by up to 40%, leading to higher effective pay-outs for Swiggy’s delivery partners who will own the said EVs.

This is not the first time the company is using electric vehicles for deliveries. Last year, Swiggy’s delivery partners in cities like Delhi and Lucknow carried out deliveries on e-rickshaws.

Swiggy currently has a fleet of close to 10,000 partners making over 1.5 million deliveries every month on cycles across 54 cities with maximum cyclists in Bangalore followed by Mumbai. 20% of these delivery partners are present in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities such a Surat, Belgaum, Guwahati and Lucknow.

Talking about the increasing adoption of eco-friendly modes of delivery, Srivats TS, VP, Marketing, Swiggy said “With the future heading towards more eco-friendly modes of transport, cycle and EV logistics will be the next game changer in food-tech and Swiggy wants to be at the forefront of driving that change.”

Every single partner undergoes training on road safety and traffic rules during their induction, followed by regular programs to build awareness, skills and knowledge on safe riding practices, traffic rules and parking etiquette, especially during peak hours as part of Swiggy’s Safety First initiative.