Case Study: helping the City of Seattle design & launch its commercial e-cargo bike program

In 2024 and 2025, Electric Avenue supported the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) in designing and launching its commercial e-cargo bike program, one of the first such permanent programs in North America. 

The purpose of this guide is to describe the process SDOT and its partners followed to shape the program and prepare for a successful launch, including determining the program parameters, drafting and refining the enabling city council legislation, engaging with key stakeholders, and developing a communications and messaging strategy to generate broad program awareness and encourage commercial e-cargo bike adoption.

The intended audiences for this guide are peer cities considering the implementation of commercial e-cargo bike policies and programs, as well as other stakeholders invested in scaling up right-sized, electric freight in cities.

This work and guide were completed with financial support from C40 Cities, a global network of mayors of the world’s leading cities that are united in action to confront the climate crisis. SDOT also received support on this project from Walker Consultants.