Dunzo, one of India’s fastest growing hyperlocal delivery platforms, is introducing bicycles to its choice of delivery vehicles, opening up more earning opportunities. While hyperlocal delivery has been traditionally using two-wheelers to make drops, the implementation of bicycles is making a significant impact on the business and the environment.
In most urban cities in India, there is a growing demand for two-wheeler driver-partners due to the boom in e-commerce and delivery startups. However, there are just 37 million two-wheelers for over 500 million youth. A significant number of interested partners do not own a bike, thereby preventing them from participating in the digital economy. The average delivery for Dunzo happens within a 4 km radius or even shorter, making bicycles an extremely conducive way to make pickups and drops.
“At Dunzo, we have always worked towards making partners more self-sufficient and financially independent. As entrepreneurs in their own right, introducing bicycles as a vehicle option for partners brings down the financial investment they need to make for the long term. Bicycles are a healthier choice for partners in that its easier to maintain as a vehicle, it involves zero fuel costs, ensures better insurance coverage, and improves overall affordability. These savings can be mutually beneficial for the partner and the company and lead to more earning opportunities for partners who do not own a bike,” says Kabeer Biswas, CEO & Co-Founder, Dunzo.
When building out the delivery partner alliance, Dunzo has been extremely open to the variety of talent that wants to join its platform. The current fleet of 18k plus monthly active partners includes students, graduates, entrepreneurs, farmers, senior citizens, teachers, drivers, single parents, and domestic workers.
Bicycles on the platform have widened the partner onboarding funnel and the community is welcoming this change. Partners will now be able to start earning immediately without a motor vehicle becoming an entry barrier. It also allows partners to significantly enhance family income without having to do any upfront investment.
The model has attracted a lot of students who are able to earn their pocket money by doing delivery for a few hours and getting to know their cities better. And what’s more is that partners on bicycles are able to take home an income at par with a bike delivery partner.
As Dunzo’s cycle program takes to the roads of Bengaluru, Delhi, and Pune, more geographies will soon join the list and help partners start earning. Currently, there are over a thousand partners on bicycles already.
Apart from cycles, Dunzo also provides social and monetary benefits like on task life-insurance of up to 5 lakh, mediclaim, discount on medicines from partner pharmacies, discounted medical examinations at partner hospitals, on-call doctor availability for family-based emergencies for high performing partners, daily, weekly, and monthly incentives, and a national recognition programme for high-performing partners.