NEW YORK (PIX11) — A new Grubhub partnership aims to make e-bikes safer for delivery workers in New York City.
The E-Bike Lifecycle safety program will provide New York City delivery workers with access to certified JOCO e-bikes. They will also support an FDNY Foundation educational campaign in New York.
The JOCO partnership will provide at least 500 delivery partners free access to more than 1,000 safety-certified e-bikes and more than 55 JOCO hubs for continuous safe e-bike storage, battery exchange, and distribution of delivery rider gear.
The announcement was made in response to fires sparked by e-bikes with faulty lithium-ion batteries that have plagued New York City. This year alone there have been at least 67 fires and five deaths in New York City, according to city officials. Earlier this month, a fire in Astoria claimed the lives of two young people.
Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats all gave $100,000 to the FDNY to sponsor education and fire safety throughout the five boroughs.
“Delivery workers are essential to thousands of communities and businesses, ensuring their safety – and the safety of all New Yorkers – is a top priority,” said Amy Perlik Healy, vice president of government relations at Grubhub. “These new partnerships are an expansion of our ongoing work to address the safe use of e-bikes and handling of batteries by delivery partners.”
Together, the new campaign will cost Grubhub around half a million dollars.
