The Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Utrecht today reached agreements with parcel carriers and providers of parcel points and lockers to improve and streamline parcel delivery in cities. By establishing a network of parcel points and lockers within walking and cycling distance, their use should become more attractive to consumers. If more consumers have their parcels delivered to a parcel point or locker, the number of trips in cities can be significantly reduced.
” In The Hague, we’re specifically looking for locations close to public transport and cycling routes, and mobility hubs, so it becomes easy to pick up a parcel on the way home. With these parcel points, we’re putting our plans for sustainable urban logistics into practice: parcel flows are being bundled, fewer vans are driving through residential areas, and deliveries are becoming cleaner. It also aligns perfectly with our Network Strategy, in which we intelligently organize key functions around hubs so that the city continues to flow more smoothly for everyone ,” says Alderman Arjen Kapteijns (Energy Transition, Mobility, and Raw Materials).
The covenant was signed by PostNL, DHL, DPD, Budbee, VintedGo, De Buren, and ViaTim and was made possible in part by the DMI ecosystem, a partnership between the national government, provinces, cities, and the business community.
Due to the enormous growth of online orders, thousands of parcel vans are driving through cities every day. In the four major cities, more than 200,000 parcels are delivered daily by various delivery services, 80% of which are delivered to homes. This can cause congestion and unsafe situations, especially in narrow streets. With the agreement, cities and parcel companies are taking a different approach: more parcels will be delivered via shared parcel points, reducing the number of trips on residential streets and saving carriers money.
While parcel carriers currently primarily use their own parcel points and lockers, the plan is for them to eventually utilize shared or mutual locations. This will significantly increase the number of parcel locations within walking or cycling distance of residents. For new locations
Both public and private locations are considered, such as public transport hubs, bicycle sheds, shops, community centres or sports facilities.
In the coming period, work will be done on the first new locations and a joint approach for each city. The goal is for every city resident to have easy access to a parcel point or parcel locker by 2028. This will make parcel delivery cleaner, safer, and more efficient. The DMI ecosystem is working to further expand the number of participating municipalities, including the G40 city network.
Text: Municipality of The Hague. Translation to English: The Hague Online
Photo: Municipality of Amsterdam