All about our new electric vans
Keep your eyes peeled for big, battery-powered Ridwell vans! With their futuristic-meets-retro style, they’re impossible to miss.
Ridwell drivers in Seattle and Portland are hitting the road in four new electric cargo vans. Made by BrightDrop, they’re made specifically to move a lot of goods efficiently. They hold about 615 cubic feet of cargo—envision 6,150 watermelons filling the space. Compared to the standard vans in our fleet, they hold about 25% more Ridwell bags! Plus, they’re purpose-built for our type of service with a long battery range of up to 272 miles, tall walk-in height, and low step-in height for easy in-and-out.
The vans represent our ongoing commitment to create a brighter, cleaner future, which extends beyond the service we offer to actions like this one that positively impact the planet in a different way.
In April 2023, we tested our first electric vans, the Ford E-Transit, with the goal to go fully electric. We still expect to reach that goal over time. Our journey is charging ahead!
The first electric van we added to the fleet, in April 2023
Lots to love about the new vans
We asked our Driver Operations Supervisor in Seattle, Ryan Swartling, all about the four new BrightDrop vans.
Ryan with a new van at our Seattle warehouse
How would you describe the vans?
Spacious and efficient! They’re engineered to use as much square footage as possible for cargo, with an abundance of vertical and side-to-side space. The sliding driver side door and cargo entry from the cab are extra wide, which allows the driver to deposit their material directly from the front entry as opposed to the back, saving time.
Because they have such a large capacity, we can send them to meet another van on a busy day to offload some of their material, and both vehicles can then continue on route with enough space to finish the day.
The BrightDrop van before and after pickups
They’re also driver friendly with simple and logical controls, great visibility including the high resolution backup cam, and a seat that will vibrate if you’re approaching anything hazardous while reversing. The team feels safely in control, and the vans are fun to drive.
How far can they go on a single charge?
They go approximately 280 miles on a full charge. It can depend on the weather, as cold weather causes the battery to drain more quickly, but on a full charge we can drive it two days without recharging, generally completing more than 100 pickups per day.
Do drivers need special training to drive the vans?
The acceleration isn't quite as strong and the sound and feel are more mellow than a combustion engine, but outside those factors it performs very similarly to a gas-powered van of the same dimensions.
Drivers require a small amount of special training, mostly familiarizing with the van’s controls and operating system. With so many great drivers, it's been a very smooth transition to incorporate these vehicles into the fleet. We start by routing them first in sparsely populated areas that we serve, then move into the denser areas once the drivers have some experience and are comfortable with the size of the vans.
What have drivers said about taking them out?
Naturally there were some nerves with a different make and model of vehicle that nobody has driven prior to this, but the group has become more familiar with driving them and has lots of positive feedback.
The abundant cargo space has been a big win for the drivers, as well as the ease of depositing our materials from member pickups into the van. Drivers have also noted that the visibility is outstanding, which makes for a more confident and relaxed driver when navigating narrower areas.
How have people reacted to seeing them out and about?
They're curious! BrightDrop is a fairly new company and most folks haven't seen them out in public just yet, so we get lots of questions about who makes the vans and lots of compliments on the eye-catching graphics and sleek appearance of the van.
We see some great enthusiasm with these out there on the road and it's really cool to see such genuine interest in what this brand-new van is all about.
Know someone who would like to try Ridwell and support our transition to EV?
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