The transport agencies in Madrid have a real Everest to climb daily in the last mile distribution. The urban logistics of large urban centers -and which is also beginning to happen in medium-sized cities- is demanding more and more from transport companies. About these challenges Jean-Paul Rodrigue and Laetitia Dablanc have written a work entitled ‘Urban Logistical Challenges’, which we are going to use as a reference to see these challenges.
Four challenges for transport agencies in Madrid
use of space
The design of cities is one of the fundamental axes for their proper functioning. For this to be possible, it is essential that urban planning take into account the needs of transport, which are not primarily the needs of logistics operators but the needs of the city’s inhabitants.
A high population density is usually associated with various advantages: greater presence of services, leisure, etc. In logistics it can also be beneficial, but in the case of large population concentrations it can become a problem.
Both the transport of merchandise and that of passengers share the road, and the time limitations for vehicle access encourage access to be concentrated at peak traffic. Another drawback is the reduction in reliability; When your routes can be affected by traffic jams, celebrations of events or demonstrations, you will not be able to avoid delays that complicate the service. This occurs at a time when customers demand to know more and more precisely the time at which delivery will take place.
Respect for the environment
Transport agencies in Madrid such as Transgesa are very aware of the care of our environment. Urban spaces are not only more sensitive to environmental issues, due to the high concentration of people who breathe that air, but also suffer more from it because they receive more pollution.
It is estimated that urban distribution generates twice as much pollution as the transport of goods between cities. This is due to:
Vehicle age. The vehicles dedicated to urban distribution are older, since it is common to use the last years of the vehicles in this type of service. However, new legislation is changing this phenomenon and it is the new, more ecological vehicles or those with alternative fuels that are beginning to be seen more in urban environments.
Vehicle size. This is another case in which legislation clashes between the desire to improve the environment and the desire to improve mobility. The trailers cannot cross the large arteries of the cities in broad daylight, but this implies that the smallest vehicles are the ones that carry them out as they are the ones that can access them. This makes deliveries less efficient in relation to contamination/quantity of merchandise delivered.
Speed limits. Those with a driving license and a good memory will surely remember that graph that explained how fuel consumption is more efficient in high gear. Therefore, both dense traffic and population speed limits lead to greater pollution.
ecommerce growth
The rise of electronic commerce seems to have no end. We are increasingly used to having what we buy brought to our doorstep. What before could be delivered on pallets to a nearby establishment and where we went to pick it up on foot or using public transport now translates into multiple delivery men going in multiple vehicles to each home. The more trips, the more traffic and more pollution.
Regulations for transport agencies in Madrid
Vehicle sizes, new fuels, access hours, loading and unloading areas, places with restricted access… Urban logistics is closely linked to legislation, something that is reproduced in the case of Madrid. As we have mentioned before, it is complex to balance the transport needs of large cities. We want distribution to be done in small vehicles, but that reduces its efficiency and increases pollution. We want to reduce pollution but time restrictions often create traffic spikes. Thus a long etcetera of positions that collide with each other.