The last mile.

That has long been the challenge for businesses that make deliveries. Whether they’re delivering office products, clothing, tools or Christmas gifts, getting the products to a customer’s front door can be a struggle. Traffic congestion and narrow streets and alleys often make the process difficult.

But UPS has hit on a strategy that appears to be working.

Sam Lai, a seasonal UPS driver helper, delivers packages in South Pasadena using an URB-E on Friday, December 14, 2018. Lai loads up at a drop off point at Oneonta Congregational Church in South Pasadena. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Sam Lai, a seasonal UPS driver helper, delivers packages in South Pasadena using an URB-E on Friday, December 14, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Sound The gallery will resume in seconds

Sam Lai, a seasonal UPS driver helper, delivers packages in South Pasadena using an URB-E on Friday, December 14, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Sam Lai, a seasonal UPS driver helper, delivers packages in South Pasadena using an URB-E on Friday, December 14, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Sam Lai, a seasonal UPS driver helper, delivers packages in South Pasadena using an URB-E on Friday, December 14, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)



Sam Lai, a seasonal UPS driver helper, delivers packages in South Pasadena using an URB-E on Friday, December 14, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Sam Lai, a seasonal UPS driver helper, delivers packages in South Pasadena using an URB-E on Friday, December 14, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Delivery by ERB-E

The delivery company recently launched a pilot program using foldable electric scooters. The two-wheeled vehicles, made by a Pasadena-based company called URB-E, pull portable trailers that also are foldable. They allow UPS to expedite its deliveries in traffic-gridlocked neighborhoods where maneuvering a full-size truck can be an arduous process. And since they are collapsible, moving them from one location to another is easy.

“This has increased their efficiency,” URB-E CEO Sven Etzelsberger said. “They are able to deliver at least 50 more parcels per hour than before. They have two ways to use it. They can either deliver the packages from a storage unit in the area or directly from their trucks.”

More scooters are being used

The program began in November with five URB-E scooters, but that has since ramped up to 25.

“A local guy from a UPS distribution center approached us about trying this out,” Etzelsberger said. “Now they’re using the scooters to make deliveries in Altadena, Alhambra, Sierra Madre and from a distribution center down in Orange County, as well as in Rancho Santa Margarita, Venice Beach, Playa del Rey and Burbank. They’re actually using them out of five distribution centers.”

Kristen A. Petrella, a spokeswoman for the UPS sustainability program, said the company is always looking to improve its efficiency.

“During the holiday peak shipping season, UPS utilizes a wide array of vehicles to help the company deliver nearly double its average daily package volume,” Petrella said. “We work with a variety of vendors to deploy solutions that are tailored for the needs of specific delivery areas and routes.”

UPS is using electric cargo tricycles to make deliveries in Pittsburgh and Seattle. Those are equipped with removable containers that sit atop specially designed trailers and can hold up to 400 pounds.

A versatile way to get around

But for Southern California? URB-E seems to be the answer. And UPS isn’t the company’s only customer. Boasting lithium-ion batteries and retractable, anodized handlebars, the scooters can whisk commuters throughout a city or ferry students around a sprawling university campus with ease. And their carbon fiber and aircraft-grade aluminum construction is tough, yet relatively lightweight.

The company produces a variety of models. The basic Sport model is priced at $1,099 and comes equipped with a portable power source and a liquid crystal display. The Sport GT is $1,399, the Pro Series models range from $1,899 to $2,199, and top-of-the-line Special Edition scooters are $2,599.

Depending on the model and price point, the scooters can go anywhere from 14 to 18 miles per hour. They weigh 30 to 35 pounds can be fully charged in 3 1/2 to 4 hours. They are built and assembled at the company’s headquarters at 54 W. Green St. in Pasadena.

James Moore, an expert in transportation engineering and mass transit at USC, said URB-Es are especially useful because the state has classified them as bicycles.

“You can ride them on sidewalks like electric bicycles as long as you don’t completely disregard people’s safety,” he said. “They are really good for trips that are a little longer than you want to walk, or in a congested environment.”

Moore ought to know, as he owns one.

“I had an office that was 1.2 miles away from any place I generally wanted to be and the URB-E converted a 24-minute walk into a six-minute ride,” he said. “I use it when I’m on campus and I ride it on the street. But I always try to follow the rules of the road and I never go faster than students walk … I don’t want to run over one of them!”