Community & Business
18 July, 2025
New postie bikes well liked
Since their introduction, the new electric scooters used on Clifton’s town mail runs have been well received by the posties themselves, as well as our town’s four legged friends.
Clifton Post Office owner Jodi Crollick came into possession of the scooters in June, and after a trial run, has been using the electric bikes for a few weeks now.
Ms Crollick said the decision to swap from fuel to electric was an easy one, not due to environmental concerns but simply due to economics.
“Environmental impact was not a factor,” she said.
The town’s old fuel-powered bikes were made by Honda, however that type of bike has stopped being manufactured.
Additionally, Ms Crollick said the new scooters are over 70 per cent more cost efficient and cost less than a dollar a day to charge.
The bikes are powered by smart batteries which actually gain charge the more you use them.
So far they have been enough to last a day’s deliveries that take about two and a half hours.
Ms Crollick said general concerns about batteries causing fires do not apply to these bikes, as their battery management system shuts down the components safely.
One of the biggest and not so obvious differences between the old and new bikes has been the reception from the town’s dogs.
An unfortunate aspect for every postie’s work life is dealing with aggressive dogs.
From as soon as they can hear the sound of a motorbike engine in the distance, these dogs run to the fence and let everyone in the surrounding area know what they are up to.
Posties are always in danger of getting chased or even attacked by these dogs if they escape their yards or a gate is left open.
With the new scooters being so quiet, Ms Crollick said the neighbourhood dogs, even those with the reputation as being the worst in town, have been much better behaved.
“The old posties told us which dog was the most aggressive in town,” she said.
“When we delivered to a neighbour it would run up and down the fence line as a game.
“It was less aggressive and not irritated by the sound.”
The scooters are Duo models from Benzina Zero, a company based out of Brisbane that is now providing electric delivery scooters for many post offices around Queensland.
They are a similar cost to regular motorbikes at around $17,500.
Benzina Zero said it has developed a fitting system to allow a simple installation process utilising the existing Mail Contractor panniers (the bag holding the mail) and top box from the current Honda ‘postie’ bike.
As well as for delivering mail, Benzina Zero sell scooters for fast food delivery services such as Domino’s Pizza and Pizza Hut and even an e-bike subscription service for delivery drivers.
Ms Crollick said the scooters have a top speed of 50km/h and unlike the old Honda bikes could be ridden by a ‘P’ plater.
As well as new bikes, Clifton has also had a changing of the guard for posties as well.
Following many years in the job, Elaine Logan and Lavella Bowe, the former owner of the Clifton Post Office before Ms Crollick, have stepped down from their regular duties.
Mrs Bowe will still be involved in rural deliveries.
Ms Crollick has taken on doing deliveries herself and has recruited Mick Allin to help her out.
Having worked in the industry for 20 years, she is no stranger to the task and is quickly learning the town’s street network.
She expressed her appreciation for the assistance given by Lavella Bowe and Elaine Logan during the transfer of the town delivery service.
Mr Allin, who has lived in Clifton for around 10 years, said this is his first time working as a postie and he has been enjoying it so far.
Having previously worked in the farming and mechanical industries, Mr Allin said delivering mail is quite a new experience for him however it is a good way to learn more about the town.
He said if pedestrians on Clifton’s footpaths hear a good morning from behind, it could very well be him or another postie.
The new scooters are so quiet that most pedestrians don’t hear them coming.
However, the horns are quite loud and can startle people, so a “good morning” gets the job done the best.
