For 10 years now, UPS has been adding eco-friendly vehicles to their Rolling Laboratory project, which boasts over 700 different vehicles around the world that have minimum to no harmful effects on the environment.

What started out as a way to be more fuel-efficient wound up solving the problem of delivering down narrow streets and in neighborhoods that don't allow trucks. In a number of European cities, like Hamburg, Germany, large trucks are banned during business hours as part of a 20-year plan to make the city greener and cleaner. UPS combats this by putting out its fleet of delivery tricycles, or the Cargo Cruiser, which has 77 cubic feet of cargo space, can move at 15 mph, and lasts for 21 miles.

While it become normal to see this in European nations, including Switzerland and England, the vehicles had not yet been introduced to the U.S. until now. In early December 2016, UPS debuted the first U.S. Cargo Cruisers in Portland, Oregon where the mayor, Charlie Hales, said, 

"Portland, like all cities, is looking for ways to fight urban congestion and pollution. It's great when a company like UPS brings us a unique solution that will help us combat climate change and protect the environment."

Credit: UPS

This trial will help UPS determine the effectiveness and efficiency of using the bikes over traditional truck methods, and it's the prime starting place because Portland is often referred to as "Bike City USA." The city is known for its environmentally-friendly policies and liberal attitudes, making it the perfect debut spot.