In yet another farcical illustration that the left’s climate alarmism is vacuous political theater, United Parcel Service unveiled a battery-powered, four-wheeled cycle to make deliveries in New York.
UPS, a woke, left-wing corporation, touted the news on Twitter, claiming its eQuad will combat climate change by reducing the company’s carbon footprint.
Read all about it! ? @UPS eBikes hit streets of Manhattan testing pilot program for deliveries w/ UPS @fernhay eQuad. It’s an electric cargo bike allowing for more #sustainable deliveries in urban areas. Full circle for 100+ yr company that started as a bike messenger service.? pic.twitter.com/HLRd8Cbg5g
— UPS Public Affairs (@UPSPolicy) June 14, 2022
The company said it’s trying to be “carbon-neutral” by 2050 and “achieve 40% alternative fuel in ground operations by 2025.”
UPS has unveiled a battery-powered, four-wheeled cycle that it is testing to more efficiently haul cargo in some of the country’s most congested streets and to reduce its carbon footprint. pic.twitter.com/TSdC6OBzka
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 15, 2022
UPS is conducting a trial run of the eQuads in New York City and across several European cities to test their feasibility.
Will the UPS eQuad project fail?
Nicole Pilet, the company’s industrial engineering director, told the AP “if we can have success here in the city, then we can see how we implement in other cities throughout the U.S.”
Several Twitter users nixed the idea, saying eQuads will make drivers vulnerable to assaults and robberies.
A great big target in New York that says Rob me, Hijack me!
— Robert Bowman I Am (@RobertELBowman) June 16, 2022
Question: Were all of them robbed within one mile of where they began or did they make it two? https://t.co/1qSvjFwLUG
— Will (@Tennessee_Mojo) June 21, 2022
It’s bad enough that UPS drivers are sometimes beaten or killed while making deliveries using large trucks, but they’ll be even more exposed on these tiny eQuad vehicles.
UPS DRIVER ROBBED | The robbery of UPS delivery driver was caught on camera in the 8700 block of Commerce Park earlier this month. Please contact Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS (8477) if you recognize the suspect or vehicle.
More: https://t.co/kNper3KrOd pic.twitter.com/JJP7MHbkOO
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) December 10, 2021
UPS driver shot & killed in #Raleigh
“I saw packages on the ground and immediately thought something happened with the UPS person.” pic.twitter.com/ye5sqtfHuf
— Rosalia Fodera (@RosaliaFodera) February 11, 2021
This clip, shared with our affiliates shows the moments when shots were fired along interstate 75 in Miramar. The robbers hijacked a UPS truck and took 1 person hostage. Police say 4 people died in the shootout including that UPS driver pic.twitter.com/LSCzuBMdsR
— Lexi Nahl (@LexiCBS12) December 6, 2019
As a New Yorker, I believe the eQuad project will fail miserably. Forcing UPS drivers to use miniature electronic vehicles will make their lives more difficult and dangerous.
Because of the soft-on-crime policies of NYC’s Democratic leaders — coupled with their reckless disempowerment of police — criminals have become even more emboldened because there’s no deterrence or accountability for their thuggery.
Breaking: mass shooting in Harlem leaves 9 shot, including a 21-year-old man who is dead. This is at 5th Ave and 139th St, at an overpass leading to a park adjacent to the Harlem River Drive. No arrests. @NYPDTips is requesting information. https://t.co/OrnmguiO3G pic.twitter.com/hm9ACeXnt8
— Derick Waller (@wallerABC7) June 20, 2022
Parked cars with engaged alarm systems are frequent targets for theft on NYC streets.
Does anyone actually believe that an unmonitored UPS vehicle will be safe when the driver steps away to deliver a parcel? What a joke.
A UPS driver was robbed at gunpoint in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County police told 11 News. https://t.co/s0OVZhoVcy pic.twitter.com/3Fk733wazZ
— WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore (@wbaltv11) April 20, 2022
A food delivery man was randomly attacked while working in Hell’s Kitchen last Thursday night, police said.
The 47-year-old victim was standing next to his motorized bike when a man approached him from behind and whacked him in the head with a plastic traffic tube pic.twitter.com/i3CHwzo81a— Marcus Trafalgar (@dolce65023071) June 12, 2022
On 11/27 53YO Chinese delivery man was attacked and robbed at 165th street and Tinton Avenue. Suspects struck the victim in the head with a brick causing him to lose consciousness. They than began to kick him on the ground, took $300 and his phone before taking off. pic.twitter.com/Fzj7kHCPY9
— Sarah Y. Kim (@Syissle) December 2, 2021
Logistically speaking, it’s hard enough to deliver large packages using a big UPS truck, but the work will become even more onerous if drivers are forced to make multiple deliveries because the eQuads only fit a certain number of packages.
In New York, people buy furniture, treadmills, microwaves and other large items online. Those deliveries are impossible using an eQuad.
The likely result will probably be delayed deliveries — and this is not something impatient New Yorkers will tolerate.
Moreover, has UPS considered how its eQuad drivers will fare when there’s a snowstorm or a torrential downpour of rain? Maybe UPS executives don’t care if their drivers freeze while they’re being hijacked or robbed.
So this UPS under Joe Biden’s botched presidency and failed economy: A multi-billion-dollar corporation resorting to Flintstones-level “technology” that sacrifices efficiency and personal safety in the name of climate hysteria.