UPS is continuing to electrify its delivery vehicles where it make sense to, with the recent announcement of a new e-bike delivery vehicle in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the latest example.

In addition to reducing associated greenhouse gas emissions, the deployment of the electric delivery/cargo bike will also of course reduce traffic congestion, air pollution, and noise pollution.

While such vehicles of course won’t be able to replace a large percentage of UPS’s delivery fleet — owing to inherent limitations in range and cargo capacity (limiting such vehicles to urban areas) — they still likely represent a sensible part of a larger solution strategy involving electric vehicles.

While the e-bike deployments represent just part of UPS’s “Rolling Laboratory” program, the broader program currently encompasses the real-world testing of over 8,500 low-emission vehicles. These vehicles range from all-electric trucks, to hybrids, to propane and natural gas powered trucks.