URB-E Rolls Out Zero Emissions Last Mile Delivery Service Across Santa Monica

The company aims to take delivery trucks out of Santa Monica and replace them with e-cargo vehicles in the Zero Emissions Delivery Zone created by Santa Monica and LACI

SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- URB-E, the California-based leader in scalable green last mile delivery, today launched e-cargo last mile delivery service in Downtown Santa Monica, Ocean Park, Mid-City, and Wilshire Montana that will help replace delivery trucks with zero emission e-vehicles. This is another first for Santa Monica, which is becoming known as a world-renowned center of green innovation in micro-mobility.

Ten URB-E e-vehicles - which are currently custom designed e-bikes and e-containers -  will start their delivery service today in bike and Zero Emission Delivery Zone (ZEDZ) lanes on Santa Monica and Colorado Boulevards, with plans to expand to more than 20 vehicles. The URB-Es will deliver meal kits, e-commerce orders, groceries and subscription boxes daily from 8am - 8pm PT.

"URB-E offers a perfect solution to deploy in LACI and Santa Monica's pilot Zero Emissions Delivery Zone," said Matt Petersen, CEO of LACI. "Since the pandemic, the demand for doorstep deliveries and the resulting pollution has surged further underscoring the importance of LACI's Transportation Electrification Partnership members working together to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality."

URB-E's Santa Monica expansion continues the company's West Coast growth, having started in urban downtowns including Manhattan. The company is now bringing its e-cargo vehicles to suburban environments like Long Beach and Santa Monica, where the need for a clean, green delivery infrastructure is even more important as it affects the quality of the environment in areas where the majority of people live.

"Santa Monicans have had enough of delivery trucks snarling up their traffic, taking up parking spots and pumping noxious gasses into their environment. URB-E's new e-cargo vehicles can carry as much as a single truck while being more traffic and parking efficient," said Charles Jolley, CEO of URB-E. "By using electric vehicles and containers, we're able to deliver more packages each day while keeping Santa Monica running more smoothly and cleanly. And we know people that are happy about this as they stop us on the street all the time!"

URB-E was recently awarded honorable mention in Fast Company's World Changing Ideas for Urban Design that make cities more equitable, resilient, and enticing. URB-E vehicles, which carry up to 800lbs of cargo, will be making deliveries to both residential and commercial addresses. The vehicles are e-battery-powered and charged off-site at an URB-E facility, providing a safe energy infrastructure, which electric cars and vans currently don't support.

URB-E is looking to train more than 20 riders as they expand across Santa Monica. Interested riders can apply here.

About URB-E:
URB-E is containerizing last-mile delivery to help make our cities run better. The containers save a massive amount of space in crowded urban centers and can be moved through city streets more quickly and economically, with less environmental impact, than other alternatives. URB-E has some of the world's largest retailers and e-commerce companies as its clients. The venture-funded company is backed by UBS Group and headquartered in Los Angeles.
For more information, please visit urb-e.com.

About The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI):
LACI is creating an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation working with startups to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies; transforming markets through partnerships with policymakers, innovators, and market leaders in transportation, energy and sustainable cities; and enhancing communities through workforce development, pilots, and other programs. In the last ten years, LACI has helped 315 portfolio companies raise $695 million in funding and create over 2,480 jobs in the LA region, with a projected long-term economic impact on the LA region of more than $555 million dollars. Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI is a non-profit recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI. Learn more at laci.org.

Contact: Leigh Martinez, [email protected]

SOURCE URB-E