We're On the Map

Every time I make a food delivery on my bike, I log it in my database. What you see in the enclosed picture is a rough snapshot of those deliveries — around 2800 km thus far, with an avoidance of about .6 metric tons of carbon dioxide. I figure with my trips to the various markets around Tel Aviv, my actual bike distance probably tops 4000 km.

I deliver only in the immediate area of Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, and Givatayim, something like an 8 km radius. I suppose I could extend that range, but I worry about the freshness of my food, particularly during the hot summer months here. Interestingly enough, I do get a fair number of calls from folks outside this area, wanting to place an order. They tend to understand that I will have to charge standard car delivery rates for the order, which bumps the order up around 80 shekels or so, not a small sum by any means. But they always balk at the small surcharge I add on to pay for the carbon offset, usually around 24 shekels depending on how far they live from our kitchen. It’s just not part of the DNA here. I use it as a teaching tool as much as anything, letting folks know that I’m not making any money off the surcharge. I’m just trying to pay my fair share of offsetting the cost of the carbon emissions of the delivery.

So far, no one has decided to follow through on such an order. I guess the carbon surcharge is just too big of a conceptual (or financial) hill to climb. I suppose I should be concerned about that, how it limits my business opportunities. I guess I just don’t see it that way.