by Walther Ploos van Amstel
To address growing traffic congestion and air quality concerns, UPS and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the deployment of a downtown delivery pilot project using cargo eBikes and customized modular trailers.
Some logistics companies insist that deliveries will soon be done by drones. However, there’s a really old technology that’s more likely to be doing the bulk of the future’s last mile deliveries: the bicycle. “The delivery trike of old is now electric and capable of zipping 350 kg through congested city streets without touching the …
In cooperation with startup, citkar, this October Zalando is testing an alternative to traditional parcel delivery in Berlin with the Loadster e-bike. The Space-saving, fast and efficient Loadster, a 500-liter freight e-bike, brings parcel delivery off the road and onto the cycle path.
During the IAA transport fair in Hanover, Gazelle presented the new D10 e-cargo bike. With the D10, Gazelle, in collaboration with Aluca and mobility as a service start-up, is responding to DOCKR’s demand for smart, fast, green and efficient ‘last-mile’ city logistics solutions.
DHL Express has started in Groningen (NL) with a CityHub for sustainable city distribution. It is a local operation with a parcel shop function from which cargo bike couriers, in particular, deliver and collect parcels and where consumers can pick up and send shipments themselves.
The growth of e-commerce is accompanied by an increasing distribution of parcels in cities resulting in externalities like traffic congestion or emissions. As a consequence, different delivery concepts like bike deliveries or delivery points have been suggested. Most companies will only accept these changes, if they do not result in higher cost of delivery.