If your partner has accidentally left you locked inside the apartment, if you've forgotten your passport at home, and the bus leaves in half an hour, or if you've forgotten to bring diapers and the baby's started crying, eco couriers are there to help you.
The only licensed ecological courier service in Serbia has been operating in Novi Sad for three years now. The idea to deliver shipments by bike occurred to Milan Lisica while he was at his MA studies in Groningen, where he was introduced to the highly developed Dutch bicycle culture, as well as courier delivery by bike. After he returned to Serbia, Lisica founded
Eko Kurir in Novi Sad, with three friends, Dejan Vlaski, Goran Djeric and Vladimir Horvat.
– At the very beginning, our expectations were to contribute to the city and the community in which we had decided to live and create as much as possible as a group of friends and for our ideas do become accepted to the greatest extent possible. We were going from door to door, from shop to shop, introducing our fellow citizens to the new concept of courier services. Our enthusiasm, positive energy and support by our friends were crucial. Thanks to our dedication, we didn't have to wait long for the positive reactions to start coming in – Dejan Vlaski, president of the Eko Kurir club, starts his interview for eKapija.
Vlaski is a journalist by profession, as are Lisica and Djeric, whereas Horvat is a psychologist.
Although the business venture was initiated by four friends, the number of Eko Kurir members has been increasing at a quick pace, and the association now numbers 30 members, of which 15 are active couriers. People of Novi Sad know Eko Kurir very well at this point, and the circle of clients is increasing day by day through word of mouth.
Eco couriers operate in three Novi Sad zones. In the first two, a delivery takes no more than an hour, whereas in the third one it takes a an hour and a half at most. The prices of delivery range from RSD 130 up, depending on the request. The manner of operation, the quickness, the prices and the quality of service enable them to cooperate with numerous clients from various fields. Optics shops, dentist's offices, book-keeping agencies, law offices, print shops and fast food restaurants are just some of their clients. Aside from the business sector, they are open to cooperating with citizens by running errands for them, such as paying bills, withdrawing pension money, going to the store or the green market, getting prescription drugs and other activities people don't have time for.