Food deliveries on electric vehicles! How Swiggy plans to use EVs to deliver your orders

Electric vehicles are considered to be one of the most sustainable forms of transportation as they have zero emissions, lower carbon footprint and require minimum maintenance. Food delivery platform, Swiggy is encouraging the use of EVs for its delivery partners and has announced that it is piloting EVs in 10 cities across the country. Swiggy operates in more than 120 cities in India. Additionally, EVs lower the running cost of the vehicles by up to 40%, leading to higher effective pay-outs. Currently, Swiggy is testing EVs from several logistic providers. This is not the first time the company is using electric vehicles for deliveries. Last year, Swiggy partnered in cities like Delhi and Lucknow and carried out deliveries on e-rickshaws. 

Talking about the increasing adoption of eco-friendly modes of delivery, Srivats TS, VP, Marketing, Swiggy said “When Swiggy started in 2014, we pioneered the need to build a dedicated delivery fleet, consistently growing the fleet to ensure industry-best delivery time. A couple of years back, we initiated concerted efforts to make millions of our deliveries more sustainable for the environment. With close to 10,000 delivery partners on cycles each day, we have found that in some of our cities, the average travel time for a delivery partner on cycles is even lesser than bikes or scooters. 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.”

Two years ago, Swiggy included 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. Additionally, cycle delivery partners are assigned to short-distance deliveries, which enables quick completion of orders. 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. 

Also, the 20% of these delivery partners are present in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities such a Surat, Belgaum, Guwahati and Lucknow. The delivery partners undergo 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 initiative.