by Walther Ploos van Amstel
It is an inspiring dream image of the future, but also a vision that is slowly turning into reality. The use of human-powered vehicles in urban distribution is increasing, but how should we adapt the city to accommodate these newcomers?
The International Cargo Bike Festival (ICBF) takes place Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 April 2018 at the former airport Tempelhof in Berlin. The International Cargo Bike Festival 2018 will be hosted by VELOBerlin. It will take place at the former airport Tempelhof in Berlin on 14 and 15 April 2018.
The European Commission has promoted actions and policies with the aim of reducing the negative impacts on traffic and environment caused by city logistics. One increasingly popular measure is the use of cargo bikes in city logistics due to their improved energy efficiency, lower emissions and lower traffic disturbance.
It’s the 1 mln dollar question: are cargo bike network for city logistics really more expensive? Antwerps (B) researcher Jochen Maes, says yes. A new simulation study by the same Antwerps University, based on different delivery scenarios for certain areas, presents new perspectives by taking a more holistic approach.
In urban areas light goods are often delivered by heavy vehicles covering only short distances. This is problematic in sensitive inner city areas. The European project Cyclelogistics Ahead, a follow up on the first Cyclelogistics project in 2011, aims at reducing the negative impact of motorised urban freight.
Wehkamp starts with delivery on cargo bikes. After several successful pilots, Wehkamp, DHL and Fietskoeriers.nl join forces. In 12 cities the couriers of Fietskoeriers.nl deliver, in the ‘last mile’, part of the packages from Wehkamp at home.
The impact of urban mobility, and urban freight transport in particular, on the liveability of an urban area is elevated. Growing urban road congestion in most European cities, to which urban freight transport is an active contributor, vehicle emissions and road safety are big challenges for society.
The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, has announced a crack-down on 50.000 e-bikes delivering goods. At a press conference he complained: “We can’t have a situation where people feel unsafe crossing the street or even walking down the sidewalk. We can’t have a situation where someone is suddenly facing an electronic bicycle coming …
Containerization will play an important role in success of cargo bikes. This research paper by Tom Assmann and Fabian Behrendt presents a quantitative model to determine economically viable container heights for three-wheeled rear loading cargo bikes in crossdocking and intermodal truck-based last mile distribution schemes.
The advent of new technologies in last mile deliveries is about to cause a disruption in the traditional business model applied in city logistics. In this context, identifying new business and operations models and vehicles that could be applied for last mile deliveries in urban areas becomes crucial