Responding to increasing demand, Green Riders is expanding its e-bike charging network in Cape Town where it has delivery partnerships with Uber Eats, Mr D Food and Pick n Pay asap!.

Craig Atkinson, Founder of Green Riders, says the company has eight containers with charging equipment and three solar vans stationed strategically on routes frequently used by the delivery riders.

Although the containers are attached to the electricity grid, the vans are completely off-grid solar trailers operated by technicians.

The company plans to expand this infrastructure in partnership with Engen and Growthpoint Properties to place charging stations in forecourts and shopping centres.

Typically, there are about 600 e-bikes or green riders on the road at any given time. The fleet of more than 600 e-bikes, established in 2022, is expected to grow with more retailer partnerships. Atkinson envisages 4 000 e-bikes on the road by the end of next year.

The e-bikes have two batteries so that, while one is charging, the rider can use another for deliveries and replace it with a fully charged battery on return to the station.

The batteries

The 1 kW batteries used by the e-bikes are manufactured in China but Green Riders undertakes its own maintenance and repairs.

After travelling for about 70 km, it takes three hours to charge empty batteries to full. New battery technology, set to launch next year, will charge the batteries from empty to full in 15 minutes. The solar vans have an inverter, which can charge up to 20 batteries at a time.

The current batteries have about 2 000 life cycles. The new batteries, to be introduced next year, will have about 8 000 to 12 000 life cycles. “We don't have the exact answer yet but that's what the simulation tests show us,” says Atkinson. “Technology is constantly evolving and improving so we also strive to update and upgrade our hardware for longevity.”

Atkinson says the company is working on technology to ensure future batteries are easily reusable or recyclable. “At the end of their life cycles, when they have become too weak to use in a high-density application like an e-bike, we want the batteries to still be useful. They need to be good enough to use in a solar system, for instance, so they don’t go to landfills but into a second life cycle.”

The batteries can also be charged at home using domestic power. Each rider has either 2 A or 5 A chargers with ordinary domestic charging plugs. “It's like charging your laptop,” Atkinson explains. “You plug it into your wall, put the battery on charge and leave it for three to four hours.”

Green Riders is committed to sustainable impacts, he adds. “We don't want to put internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles into the market. An e-bike compared to an ICE vehicle, in terms of running costs, is probably about 50% cheaper although electric vehicles are more expensive. It would cost about R1 500 or more a week to rent a traditional motorbike, including fuel, but around R870 for an e-bike, including batteries.”

Ultimately, Green Riders is aiming to decarbonise the industry and create sustainable jobs. “Our mission is to create 50 000 jobs while decarbonising the last mile delivery sector,” Atkinson points out.