FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                                                            March 8th, 2011

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STUDENTS FORM CANADA’S FIRST CARGO TRIKE DELIVERY BUSINESS

Shift Delivery Co-op to launch zero-emissions, worker-owned enterprise

[Vancouver, BC] - A group of young social entrepreneurs have come together to form Canada’s first delivery business that uses cargo tricycles for goods transport. The five local students are taking matters into their own hands by creating SHIFT, a worker co-operative that creates the green jobs they want to see in the world. The business plan was initially developed in a social enterprise course at Simon Fraser University, and the students are now preparing to launch the service as they graduate this spring.

Replacing delivery trucks and vans with zero-emission cargo trikes for downtown deliveries will reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and support Vancouver’s goal to become the greenest city in the world. SHIFT’s unique delivery trikes will also use bike lanes to pass vehicle line-ups and can park with ease virtually anywhere, avoiding the congestion and parking challenges experienced by conventional delivery vehicles in the downtown core.

SHIFT’s cargo trikes have an impressive capacity, transporting up to 600 pounds of goods - about the weight of an adult grizzly bear! They are human-powered with an electric assist option.

“It’s really exciting to be on the cutting edge. We’re using the most appropriate, sustainable and efficient technology for downtown Vancouver”, says founding member-owner Loretta Laurin. “It’s very empowering to be a young person out in the business world involved in changing the way business is actually done.”

Shift Delivery Co-op is a for-profit business with a unique structure: the enterprise is owned and democratically operated by its workers. As the business grows, profits will be distributed to workers and to the community.

“We are responding to today’s economic, social, and environmental challenges together with this innovative enterprise,” says founding member-owner Graham Anderson. “Not only are we developing unique solutions for goods transportation, but we are using the co-operative model to ensure that the jobs created support community development and that the work is fairly rewarded.”

The co-op is developing contracts with local businesses to transport and deliver a diverse range of products including beverages, coffee, food products, office supplies, clothing, moving supplies, and other goods.

For further information and to arrange interviews, contact:

Loretta Laurin, founding member-owner: loretta.laurin@gmail.com, 778-231-2866

There is a similar company successfully operating in Portland, check them out! - http://b-linepdx.com/