Full Proposal
Electric Bicycle Mail-Delivery
Executive Summary:
Our project involves replacing UW Mailing Service delivery trucks with five electric assist cargo bicycles complete with fully secured cargo boxes and trailers. This proposal entails restructuring our delivery methods to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the bicycles. Through incorporating our main operation in the Publications Building, located in the Southwest campus, as well as two additional satellite locations, we can utilize our resources cutting costs and emissions. We are currently running a light bicycle operation from one of those satellites which is located in the Communications Building on central campus. The other satellite will operate from our UW Tower Mailing Services platform.
Our proposed cost estimate is $77,798. This would allow us to purchase five electric assist bicycles with cargo carrying capacity, rider gear, project education, and bike maintenance. This funding will support a large reduction in energy consumption, carbon emissions, noise pollution, and vehicle congestion created by UW Mailing Services vehicles.
All metrics for the project will be measured and made available to the campus community via a vast public outreach campaign.
The project will be supported long-term by a joint team of Mailing Services employees and student interns. UW Mailing Services will assume the long-term maintenance costs associated with the project.
This proposal was developed by Dylan Been (Student Coordinator), as well as Douglas Stevens and Jeffrey Schwartz (UW Mailing Services).
Student Involvement:
Dylan Been, Foster School of Business 2017, is currently serving in the role of Student Coordinator and Project Facilitator. We have an agreement in place with the HUB Graphic Design Office where student employees will create the designs for our educational outreach material. We also have a set maintenance schedule with the student run ASUW Bike Shop in order to provide maintenance on the non-warrantied parts and accessories. In the future, we will recruit student team members who will manage the project long-term. This position will be filled either through an internship program offered by UW Mailing Services, or through Carlson Service Learners. Responsibilities will include maintaining project outreach, social media, and program metrics. The new team member will also aid Mailing Services in applying for additional grants as they expand their fleet of cargo bikes.
Education & Outreach:
Our main educational and outreach goal is to promote the benefits of alternative forms of transportation. We are going to achieve that goal by educating the campus community through our graphic design and media campaigns.
1) Graphic Design
- CSF and educational “fun facts” posters/banners will be displayed on cargo bikes and trailers (CSF example included under Project Approval Forms)
- Utilize Creative Communications Transit Messaging Program to promote the bicycle program and CSF on the sides of UW vehicles and inside the UW Husky Shuttle buses
- Promote CSF at UW and Sustainability events
2) Media Campaign
- Utilize the UW Daily for ad space. Encourage the Daily to do a front page feature on the cargo bikes and CSF involvement in the program
- Utilize social media. Create Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts to promote the bike program and publish updates
- Partner with UW Media Relations & Communications to create a regional/national press release. Encourage local media to do a story on CSF/Bike program. (KUOW, ABC, CBS, NBC, local affiliates, The Seattle Times, The Stranger)
- Create informational page on UW Mailing Services web page
- Energy Use
- Transportation
Long-term management of the project will be handled jointly by Mailing Services employees and interns hired by the department. Duties will involve tracking environmental metrics as vehicles are replaced by cargo bikes, managing social media outlets, and presenting the project at CSF events. Interns will also work jointly with Mailing Services to provide project check-in reports to CSF. Routine maintenance on the bikes will be scheduled by Mailing Services. Additional funding to handle long-term maintenance will be provided by Mailing Services. These costs will include replacement parts and electric driveline issues following the conclusion of the three year warranty.
Environmental Problem:
Delivery vehicles utilized by Mailing Services contribute to the environmental problems of global warming, climate change, noise pollution, and dependence on fossil fuels. Mailing Services vehicles burn both diesel and gasoline which release six metric tons of CO2 as well as other harmful toxins into the atmosphere. The size of the delivery vehicles and the noise of the internal combustion engines contribute to the problem of noise pollution and vehicle congestion on campus.
The implementation of cargo bikes to replace delivery trucks on campus will mitigate the environmental problems associated with vehicle delivery.
Explain how the impacts will be measured:
To measure and quantify the benefits of our project we will be using the carbon footprint calculator from carbonfootprint.com to track the amount of CO2 emissions saved, and we will compare current fuel usage with those of previous years.
The carbonfootprint.com website allows us to enter the make, model, and year of each vehicle, as well as how many miles each vehicle travels. It then uses that data to formulate total emissions. There are currently three daily truck routes on central campus that, when combined, average 10.5 miles a day or 2,625 miles across campus annually. Additionally, there are two daily off-campus routes, which average 9 miles, or 2,250 miles annually. With those statistics in mind, the Mailing Services vehicles release 1.75 metric tons of CO2 into the Earth’s atmosphere every year.
UW Mailing Services staff and student interns will track both fiscal and fuel savings. There will be monthly reports conducted, comparing current statistics with those of preceding months and years to quantify fuel saving. This information will be relayed to the project’s student coordinator, who will then add the statistics to the environmental metrics. The end goal of the metric tracking will be to show the University community the environmental and economic savings that come with a continued commitment to sustainability. Not only will our proposal show UW’s ongoing commitment to environmental preservation, it will also help the University’s unabating Climate Action Plan of 2005, to reduce the emission levels of 2005 by 15% before 2020.
This funding request is a: Grant
If this is a loan, what is the estimated payback period?:
Budget:
Item | Cost per Item | Quantity | Total Cost |
---|---|---|---|
Initial Costs for Bikes and Trailers | |||
Cargo E-bike (w/ Extra Battery) | $6,124 | 5 | $30,620 |
Front and Rear Cargo Boxes | 6,000 | 5 | 30,000 |
Surly Rear Trailers | 800 | 3 | 2,400 |
Graphic Design | 1250 | 1 | 1250 |
Total | $64,270 | ||
Annual Maintenance Costs | |||
E-bike full tune ups (3 Years) | $330 | 5 | $1650 |
2 Sets of Sintered Pads | 96 | 5 | 480 |
Brake Rotors | 104 | 5 | 520 |
Chain | 25 | 5 | 125 |
Bosch Chain-ring and O-Ring | 20 | 5 | 100 |
Shift Cable and Housing | 30 | 5 | 150 |
Set of Tires | 82 | 5 | 410 |
Flat Tire Fixes | 75 | 5 | 375 |
E-bike Rental During Maintenance | 150 | 5 | 750 |
Hydro Brake Maintenance | 40 | 5 | 200 |
Warranty Process | 50 | 5 | 250 |
Total | $5,010 | ||
Initial Costs for Riding Gear | |||
Citizen Messenger Bag (Bike Courier) | $154 | 2 | $308 |
Garbage Barge Bag (Bike Courier) | 384 | 2 | 768 |
Rain Caps | 46 | 6 | 276 |
Water Resistant Gloves | 92 | 6 | 552 |
Helmet | 92 | 6 | 552 |
Courier Key Chain | 9 | 5 | 46 |
Leg Strap | 17 | 4 | 69 |
Waterproof Pants | 75 | 6 | 448 |
Water Resistant Shoes | 196 | 6 | 1,173 |
Utility Pouch | 104 | 6 | 621 |
Total | $4,813 | ||
Project Subtotal | $74,093 | ||
Contingency Fee (5%) | $3,705 | ||
Project Total | $77,798 | ||
Non-CSF Sources:
Timeline:
Task | Timeframe | Estimated Completion Date |
---|---|---|
Phase 1: Mid-March - Mid-May 2017 | ||
Determine Amount of Funding Received | TBD | Mid-February - Early March |
Submit Order for Bikes and Gear Based off Level of Funding | 1 Week | April 1st, 2017 |
Submit Graphic Design Order to the HUB | 1 Week | April 1st, 2017 |
Optimize Routes to Reduce Maximum Amount of Emissions | 2 Weeks | April 15th, 2017 |
Create Social Media Campaign for Program | 2 Weeks | April 15th, 2017 |
Develop Informational Page on Mailing Services Website | 1 Month | May 1st, 2017 |
Hire Intern or Carlson Service Learner | 1 Month | April 15th, 2017 |
Phase 2: Mid-May - June 2017 | ||
Receive Fully Equipped Models | 1.5 - 2 Months | May 15th - June 1st 2017 |
Install Logos on Sides of Cargo Boxes | 1 Week | May 15th - June 1st 2017 |
First Bike Routes Begin, Metrics Tracked | Ongoing | June 1st, 2017 |
Feature Developed and Published for UW Daily | 2 Weeks | June 1st, 2017 |
Encourage Local Media to do Story on Program | 2 Weeks | June 1st, 2017 |
Phase 3: October 2017 - January 2018 | ||
Apply for More Funding if Needed | TBD | January 26th, 2018 |
Continue Metric Tracking | Ongoing | Ongoing |
First Diesel Vehicle Returned | TBD | December 31st, 2017 |
Long-Term | ||
Intern Continues to Monitor Program | Ongoing | Ongoing |
Submit New Graphic Design Order with Updated Metrics | 1 Week | June 1st, 2018 |
Develop Method for Bike Storage on Campus | TBD | June 1st, 2018 |
Mailing Services Takes over Financial Responsibility | TBD | March 15th, 2020 |
Additional Vehicles Returned | TBD | December 31st, 2018 |