City logistics service provider CityDepot (part of Bpost) stops the activities in Bruges (B) last summer. Almost three years after the start, it turned out that there was too little volume to make the hub profitable. After just over two years, it turned out that there was not enough potential and that local retailers did not support the initiative. CityDepot will soon also close the hub in Leuven (B).
CityDepot is active in sustainable city logistics. To prevent many trucks from entering the city, the goods are delivered to a hub on the outskirts of the city. From there, they are delivered to customers with electric vehicles such as cargos or electric vans. In 2015 Bpost took over CityDepot.
Hubs, or urban consolidation centers, face difficult times in all European cities. Of the hundreds of subsidized initiatives, only a few are still open. The question is also whether the best hub is not hub-less. Recently, Transport for London came up with an overview of goods flows that are fit for hubs.
Thanks for sharing. Still Many questions to draw the good Urban Logistic design focusing on the real painpoints. Counterparts are numerous, fears and dreams also !