• San Jose Mercury News, Friday, December 11, 2009 10:02 AM

Leave it to the propeller heads in brown to come up with an economic solution to a problem that has jaws dropping and tongues wagging in the Silicon Valley. When we last heard from the efficiency experts at United Parcel Service, they were designing drivers' routes to maximize right turns. Now about two dozen UPS delivery folk in northern California are using bicycles with trailers to get holiday goods where they need to go, reports columnist Mike Cassidy.

"People are like really happy to see us bike around," says Justin Hurst, 22, who rides a route in Palo Alto. "They like to see us not using cars."

In past holiday seasons, UPS rented huge Budget trucks to handle the extra traffic, says UPS spokeswoman Rhoda Daclison-Dickey. That's no longer cost-effective so they decided to go "old school," she says. The regional office bought a fleet of bicycles with trailers ($700 per set) to replace the rentals in flat, bike-friendly neighborhoods, saving about $45,000 to $50,000 in fuel and maintenance costs.

"And that doesn't account for all the good will the bikers are earning for UPS," writes Cassidy.

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