UPS: Brown Goes Green - KCOY Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo - News

UPS: Brown Goes Green

Rather than Jolly St. Nick, a bicyclist may be delivering some of your holiday gifts this year. It's part of a growing program by UPS It was first tested here on the Central Coast three years ago.

It has since become a big success statewide.  As manager, Michael King explains, Bicycle-drawn trailers are a green alternative to the big brown trucks that carry your UPS packages year round.

"We're doing the right thing for the environment, reducing the amount of emissions and vehicles on the road."

The program began with just a few cyclists in Santa Maria back in 2007. This year dozens of holiday hires will hitch up their trailers and help deliver gifts for UPS across the state.

The program reduces gas consumption by about 50 gallons a week for the Santa Maria facility alone.

In addition to its environmental benefits the program was designed to cut down on driver overtime costs and allow for earlier drop off times.

"A lot of positive feedback, the customers seem to like it," King says.

The program only runs from November through January, the busiest time of the year for UPS The shipping giant is set to deliver tens of millions of packages daily.

"The stop density during the holiday season doesn't really make sense during the rest of the year, the reason our people on bikes are so productive is because the stops are denser, on a street we would typically deliver three stops to, we deliver 12 to 14 stops this time of year."

That is why managers expect the program will continue to thrive.

"Absolutely, we'll be doing this every year continuing."