Dive Brief:

• Deliveroo has partnered with electric scooter rental company Elmovo to give London delivery riders the opportunity to rent zero-emission scooters, according to Edie. The move comes just before the launch of London's Ultra-Low Emission Zone regulations, which will take effect April 8 and will charge vehicles a daily fee of $14.36 if they don't meet exhaust emission standards.  
• Riders can rent an electric scooter for $2.41 per hour — which includes insurance and taxes — via Elmovo's app. Deliveroo drivers had access to 72 scooters this week, and more than 500 preregistered for the service.
• The scooters can travel 55 to 75 miles between charges and can reach 30 mph, according to Business Chief.

Dive Insight:

As environmental regulations ramp up in the U.K., Deliveroo has not only found a solution to comply with new standards, but has also given its drivers an attractive means of navigating London traffic. Elmovo itself has made this rental system easy for participants by making registration accessible via its app, which allows for reservations up to two weeks in advance. However, riders are required to pay a $168 refundable deposit upfront.

The launch follows a similar initiative from U.K.-based delivery rival Just Eat. The third-party aggregate rolled out its own electric moped program to more than 28,000 partner restaurants, and gives a 45% discount on bikes for food deliveries. Deliveroo's bid for greater environmental sustainability could brighten its brand halo and give it a greater competitive edge over Just Eat, especially following its partnerships with restaurant technology platform eatsa and intelligence solution Yumpingo. 

Delivery competition is fierce across the pond, and Deliveroo's electric scooter program could future-proof it against market share battles. The food delivery mobile app market was valued at $3.79 billion in 2017, and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 27.9% to $16.6 billion by 2023. 

But as Deliveroo and others race to gain restaurant loyalty, environmental concerns in the industry are giving way to extra expenditures, such as having to partner with green-friendly entities like Elmovo or spending profits on low-to-no-emissions transportation (for drivers and third-party companies alike). If environmental laws grow more stringent, third-party aggregates and their workers might see difficult, industrywide change on the rise.