In Barcelona, a project called GrowSmarter wanted to address the increase in small package deliveries resulting from an increase in online shopping. They piloted a delivery service with electric bicycles to businesses and consumers in the old town for two years.
The old town is a densely populated area with narrow streets, making it difficult for delivery vans to access. Goods can only be delivered in standard vehicles in the morning and in the evening due to traffic regulations. But the bikes are not subject to delivery times.
“This combination makes it ideal for making these deliveries with electric bicycles,” said Gonzalo Cabezas, project director for Barcelona City Council.
Delivery
The team worked with a small electric bike delivery company called Vanapedal , which provided the service. The city council installed a distribution center on the outskirts of the old town that Vanapedal could use for free . Vans from different shipping services would drop packages for last-mile delivery by electric bike or tricycle. In return, Vanapedal had to provide business data to help measure the success of the project.
Three tricycles of the nine bikes initially used were equipped with sensors to take measurements as well. “We installed some equipment that includes environmental sensors and there was a geolocation sensor to know exactly where the tricycles are,” says Cabezas.
The trial ended in December and was deemed a success. During the two years, 200,000 packages were delivered and the successful delivery rate was 92.7%. Since the service was delivered in a predefined area, it allowed the delivery people to meet their main customers and reschedule deliveries at a convenient time.
“Successful deliveries are higher than standard vendors. We are quite happy with this solution and it works economically from a business perspective,” he continues.
There was also a clear environmental impact. Carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by 95.9% and there was a noise reduction of 21.7%.
Vanapedal is now continuing with the delivery service and there are also plans to replicate the scheme in other parts of the city.
But electric bikes are not always the best solution. When large quantities of goods are delivered, vans and trucks are still needed.
In the last decade in Stockholm, Sweden, an increase in delivery trucks due to major construction sites requiring supplies and more people shopping online has contributed to the growing problem of daytime traffic congestion. Spreading deliveries within 24 hours could help.
Night
“If you can get the trucks to deliver at night, there will be a lot less congestion during the day, which is better,” says Paul Fenton, site manager for a project called Civitas Eccentric.
Due to noise regulations, heavy trucks cannot operate at night. To overcome this problem, as well as that of pollution, Civitas Eccentric is testing a plug-in hybrid electric truck. It has been granted an overnight delivery exemption to some McDonald’s restaurants because it is silent when driving on electric power.
The vehicle, provided by truck manufacturer Scania, was used during an 8-month test that ended in August 2019. When driving from a depot on the outskirts of the city, it ran on biofuel: hydrogen-treated vegetable oil (HVO). . But when he got to the center of the city, which is a low-emission zone for heavy vehicles, he switched to electric power. The truck delivered to six restaurants within the city on a single load.
“Deliveries were made faster with fewer miles driven because the vehicle was not stuck in traffic,” Fenton said. “Also, we were using a cleaner vehicle that is better for air pollution.”
Substantial data was collected to assess the effectiveness of the scheme using environmental sensors on the truck and noise monitors at specific locations on its route. Preliminary results are promising. Nitrogen oxide emissions were drastically reduced by almost 80%, while particulate emissions, which include smoke and soot particles, were reduced by 28%.
The test driver also reported that he preferred to work at night as it was less stressful. It was easier to find a place to park, for example, and the restaurant staff had time to receive deliveries as there were fewer customers at the time.
Noise
The team is interested in analyzing the impact of the service on existing background noise. The restaurants are located in areas that are already quite noisy at night, so they don’t want to add more. “I think the data shows it’s pretty good,” says Fenton. “There is no significant negative impact due to deliveries.”
Fenton believes that there is also the possibility of introducing greener delivery vehicles in other cities. But alternative fuel vans and trucks are still available in limited numbers, which is a problem when services are expanded. “It’s a bit of a chicken and an egg. The more companies that try to transition, the more vehicles will be produced,” he says.
However, concerns about the safety of silent vehicles, which cannot be heard by pedestrians and the visually impaired, for example, has led the EU to require that all electric vehicles have noise-emitting devices, which make the sound of a traditional motor, until July 2021. The device must be used when starting up to a speed of 20 km / h and when reversing. Above this speed, the sound of the tires on the road and the noise of the wind are audible, so a warning system is not needed.
It is not clear how this will affect the potential for night births. “My hunch is that the noise generated by the sound (device) will probably not exceed the background noise level in most urban settings, and therefore not a big problem,” says Fenton.
In many cases, it will also be necessary to implement new infrastructure, such as charging points . But tests like this are helping to assess where drivers would need to plug their vehicle. If a truck can be delivered with a single load, for example, loading stations would be essential near terminals outside the city center.
“There is a lot of learning involved. You have to try and try to find ways to overcome the barriers,” he concludes.
Original article
This article was originally published in Horizon, the EU Research and Innovation Magazine
