Hopeful sign: work bikes on the rise

Image by Cheryl & Rich via Flickr

Nice.

"Clearly it wasn't going to be profitable if we were continuing to drive around town," . . . . [T]he company credits the bike fleet with keeping its operating costs down and helping to attract clients who support environmentally friendly business practices. They also help find workers.

"Janitorial work is not very glamorous, but the letters I get from interested applicants, it makes you feel like people are applying for Nike or something like that," said Hannah Sandmeyer, Q19's manager. . . .

Large distributors that don't like taking their big trucks into the center of the city for a number of small drop-offs contract with B-Line to do their deliveries in the urban core.

"Trucks are often double parked where someone is wheeling five or six cases of something into a cafe, so the size of the vehicle is completely mismatched to the job," said Kathryn Racine-Jones, co-owner with her husband, Franklin, of B-Line.

The company's largest client is Organically Grown, a produce distributor. Since March, B-Line has hauled 100,000 pounds of produce, Racine-Jones said, and they have contracted to have a third delivery bike built locally.