This Saturday, August 19th, we celebrate Cyclist's Day, a date created in 2018 to encourage respect for cyclists and the use of bicycles on daily trips.
“The bicycle is central to iFood’s sustainability strategy. It is the most sustainable means of transport in the world and well addresses the demands for deliveries in shorter radius”, says André Borges, sustainability director at iFood.
On iFood, more than a quarter of delivery men and women registered on the platform make deliveries using bicycles. This corresponds to around 54 thousand people using the bike for delivery.
iFood's clean deliveries
“Bicycle deliveries are a key point in our operation and sustainability strategy”, says Fabiane Carrijo, Delivery Experience Manager.
“We are very happy to see more and more delivery men and women using sustainable modes and we are working to offer an increasingly better experience”, he adds.
iFood Pedal advances
Among delivery men and women who use bikes, 5,000 are active on iFood Pedal, the world's first bicycle rental service exclusively for couriers.
“iFood has been making great progress in this bicycle and electric bicycle agenda in partnership with Tembici. We recently expanded the iFood Pedal and we are in 6 Brazilian cities”, comments André
Those who are part of iFood Pedal, in fact, take a course with quick video lessons, which Responsive Pedal, on how to use an electric bicycle safely and take care of your health. This is one of iFood initiatives for the safety of delivery people in traffic.
Safety tips from a delivery partner
Delivery man Edinaldo Leandro Barbosa, 45 years old, who works in the São Paulo city of Sorocaba, says he is well aware of the importance of precautions in traffic for those who make deliveries using a bike.
“The cyclist ends up moving very quickly in traffic, very agile, and often the car driver ends up losing sight of us in a second of distraction”, he says. “In a way, we are invisible.”
In this way, Leandro focuses his concerns about traffic safety on the mission of always being within sight of other drivers.
Therefore, he says he prefers to take the roads in the same direction as other vehicles and not in the opposite direction, for fear of being surprised by someone going the other way after a curve, for example.
It also tends to respect the sign that opens and closes for motor vehicles, even though they are not subject to the same fines prescribed for them.
“If at first I don't see any car coming and I go through the red light, I run the risk of a car that was further away accelerating to pass the yellow one, for example, and catching me before I can cross, because the speed His is much bigger than mine”, he warns.
Leandro also warns that it is important to also make a statement in terms of appearance, adopting signal lights or even phosphorescent stickers on the bike, especially at night.
“I use a helmet with a bright spot and the new iFood bag, which has a strip that shines when illuminated by car headlights and helps them see me”, he says.
When making turns, the delivery man says he uses his hands to signal that he is going to turn. And, to note, in the absence of a horn, it is also worth shouting and shouting to avoid imminent collisions.
Another aspect that stands out is the need for the bike to be maintained up to date, “especially the brake and tire parts”.
