“Amazon and Culver City are working together building the future of urban logistics.” Janelle Watson of Amazon offered a vision of the future of delivery in Culver City, and enthused “This program is a collaboration towards sustainability and livable streets.”
August 18, 2026 marked an unusual day at Amazon Culver City; the new electric cargo bikes that will be used for delivery were sitting in the parking lot glinting in the sun while people lined up to take a ‘test drive.’ The preview event was modest. The impact of the program will be enormous.
The new delivery service, which officially launches today, is the program’s first expansion to the west coast. Amazon has been delivering via e-bike in New York City for several years, and recently completed a pilot program in Washington D.C..
The company is looking to reach it’s pledge of being net-zero carbon by 2040, and this delivery model replaces gas powered vans with battery assisted pedal power. The reduction of traffic, noise and congestion are all strong arguments for bike powered delivery.
Amazon’s Micromobility Program Lead, Samantha Ciccone-Strumph, offered that the bikes will be delivering 240 packages per shift, equivalent to what the gas powered services provided. “Amazon e-bikes will use bike lanes, traveling at 12 miles per hour, and all of our delivery drivers [will have specific safety] training. We are excited to bring all this innovation to Culver City, to focus on safe, sustainable delivery.”
The e-bikes are Class One pedal-assist, with rear cameras, regenerative braking and automatic emergency brakes.
Ciccone-Strumph continued “E bike delivery is a proven solution in the U.S.; globally we have more than 70 hubs.” From their own statistics, the company’s use of cargo bikes and electric mopeds has already completed more than a hundred million deliveries around the world.
Jeff Feldman of BHC Express is working with Amazon as a Delivery Service Partner, and is looking to hire delivery people to ride the bikes in Culver City. “We need another 50 people, at least, to start off and will likely continue hiring as we see how the program expands.”
Watson, Amazon’s local policy spokesperson for Southern California, took the mic to say “Each cargo bike means fewer delivery vans and less traffic on Culver City streets. This program has truly been a collaboration between Amazon and Culver City towards sustainability.”
Amazon has tagged Burbank as the next city in California to start switching out the vans. Their launch date will be scheduled in the next few months.
Judith Martin-Straw
