Study Reveals Last-Mile Cargo E-Bikes Could Help Save NYC $240 Million a Year
Apr 10, 2024
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Combining delivery microhubs and cargo bikes could solve the problem posed by double-parked delivery vans.
A study of New York traffic revealed that double-parked delivery trucks cost the city more than $240 million each year in lost productivity. The study, produced by Columbia University’s School for Professional Studies on behalf of Open Plans, found that a double-parked truck will delay drivers by two minutes and affects 43 cars on average. That lost productivity costs the city $243 million per year. Additionally, that double-parked truck causes .06 grams of particulate matter (PM2.5) to be released into the air, degrading the air quality.
Some of the individual examples helped to drive home the severity of the problem. One double-parked e-commerce vehicle caused problems for 73 vehicles, delaying the vehicles 3.23 minutes resulting in 235.79 minutes lost overall.
Some factors the study didn’t account for, such as the emissions released if that double-parked truck is idling.
The study concluded with a number of recommendations. In looking at solutions in other locations, such as London and Paris, they recommended a number of changes to how deliveries are made in Manhattan and the Five Boroughs: Loading zones at buildings, off-hour deliveries (i.e., night time), smaller delivery trucks (and better utilization of the space in them) and microhubs.
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The microhub idea is an intriguing solution. It has already been shown to work in London and Paris; in Paris there is a former bus station that is being used as a distribution center for local deliveries.
The study explained that microhubs combined with cargo bike and pedestrian deliveries would make a notable difference in traffic delays and pollution. To make such a wholesale change, though, they suggested that the government would need to offer financial incentives to encourage delivery companies to pull internal combustion engine (ICE) delivery vehicles from the roads.
While the study did not directly address the use of cargo e-bikes specifically, rather just cargo bikes as a whole, the study’s authors took a hard look at studies of cargo bike use in deliveries in Antwerp and London. Utilizing cargo bikes for last-mile deliveries was high among the recommendations, but its larger concern was how to set up delivery microhubs, which would then make cargo bike deliveries a viable option.
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