This weekend I was in Washington, D.C., for my daughter’s college fall women’s rugby 7’s tournament and parked in a lot at 25th and M Street SW. I noticed a curious sight in the front-middle of the lot: some sort of mini freight transfer building surrounded by orange traffic barriers, around and through which there was a queue of e-cargo bikes lined up in front of open garage doors.
There was a group of people one could easily assume to be delivery drivers (riders?) hanging out, chatting it up in the garage shed building, in the middle of the pay parking lot. This was confirmed when I saw them pedaling out and returning later.
I was so curious about it that I didn’t notice the parking attendant switch the sign from $17 to $35 GAME DAY PARKING (for DC United I presume, not college rugby) as I pulled in to the lot that was marked $12.95 on Google Maps. After a bit of back and forth with the guy, that got sorted out and we walked off for a great day of rugby and friends.
The MicroFreight DC Pilot Program
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) in conjunction with Amazon, launched the MicroFreight DC pilot program in May 2026 to bring quiet, safe e-cargo bike deliveries to DC neighborhoods.
During the ten-month pilot, Delivery Service Partners (DSPs) will deliver Amazon packages to customers in the District using a fleet of up to 15 battery-powered e-cargo bikes. The e-cargo bikes have four wheels and a secure rear cargo hold, along with covered seating, a windshield, and windshield wipers, providing weather protection for DSP delivery associates. The results of the pilot will be used to inform additional efforts to reduce impacts from last-mile delivery and future operational parameters for e-cargo bikes, as needed.
Where can they travel and park & unload?
Sidewalks are banned. DDOT says all e-cargo bikes will be limited to a 15 mph top speed and kept off sidewalks.
The speed cap is 15 mph.
Bike lanes are allowed for riding.
Bus lanes are allowed too.
General traffic lanes are allowed.
They stop in loading and daylighting zones. DDOT says the bikes can use commercial loading zones and “daylighting” zones, the curb space kept clear near intersections.
Stopping in bike lanes isn’t allowed. Axios reports that operators can lose their permits for breaking the rules, including stopping in bike lanes.
In practice, that rule has been broken. WABA said community members reported e-quads parked in bike lanes on 4th Street NW, 6th Street NE and New Jersey Avenue SE.
Will Amazon be launching delivery drones from here?
Highly unlikely, given the nature of DC’s airspace. The Southwest DC lot is Amazon’s current answer to the dense urban last mile, with the drones being focused on less dense urban areas and suburbs.
“There was an article in New York magazine about a cab company where everybody worked at night because they wanted to be something else. They were chasing dreams while locked in a hard reality made better by their relationship with each other.” - James (Jim) L. Brooks (co-creator/writer/producer, ‘Taxi’)
