Innovative Approaches in City Logistics -Home Delivery Using Locker Boxes

Dr. Klaus EsserKE-CONSULT Kurte&Esser GbR

Transport Economics ConsultantsOskar-Jaeger-Str. 175

50825 CologneGermany

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Packstation –an innovative concept solving the last mile issue

More than 700 Packstations in Germany (2006)

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Packstation –an innovative concept solving the last mile issue

Registered Packstation customers (gold card customer) …can receive postal packages at the Packstation for pick-up…can also send postal packages using the Packstations

When a postal package recipient is not at home to accept delivery, the parcel is not deposited at a local post office but placed in a Packstation where the customer can pick it up (green card customer).

DHL deposits postal packages at the Packstations to be picked up by customers (registered Packstation customers and green card customers) and collects the parcels sent from there by registered Packstation customers.

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Characteristics and Utilisation of Packstations?Effects on urban transport?

Research project OPTIMAL: supported by BMWi

Conducted by KE-CONSULT in cooperation with Deutsche Post World Net, DHL and City of Cologne

Estimating the effects for Cologne (2005)

Empirical data base:• Customer survey of more than 1,200 users at eleven Packstations in

Cologne• Data for all Cologne Packstations provided by Deutsche Post World Net,

DHL• Current traffic data for the City of Cologne

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Utilisation of Packstation

In 2005 there are 33 Packstations in Cologne. Ten of these are in the city centre, 11 have a direct connection to public transportThe Packstations in Cologne are currently used by over 25,000 registered Packstation customers.

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Cologne

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Customer pick-ups – temporal distribution

0,9% 0,2% 0,3%1,8%

6,0%

10,0%

12,6%

14,6%

21,8%

19,9%

8,7%

3,3%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

0.00-2

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0-4.00

4.00-6

.006.0

0-8.00

8.00-1

0.00

10.00

-12.00

12.00

-14.00

14.00

-16.00

16.00

-18.00

18.00

-20.00

20.00

-22.00

22.00

-24.00

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Delivery traffic of DHL

0,0%0,8% 0,6%

2,1%

19,8%

22,5%

17,8%

23,4%

12,2%

0,8%0,0% 0,0%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

0.00-2

.002.0

0-4.00

4.00-6

.006.0

0-8.00

8.00-1

0.00

10.00

-12.00

12.00

-14.00

14.00

-16.00

16.00

-18.00

18.00

-20.00

20.00

-22.00

22.00

-24.00

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Utilisation of Packstation

Home delivery no longer predominates: in 2005, more than two thirds of the postal packages of 2005 registered Packstation customers are sent or received via the Packstations.

Further increase in postal package volumes at the Packstations.

The use of Packstations will increase for more than 20% of registered Packstation customers.

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Effects on passenger transport

To what extent is the pick-up/drop-off action integrated in daily routes/daily mobility?

What transport mode is used for pick-up?

Are additional trips (detours, extra trips) needed? What distances do these trips entail?

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Effects on passenger transport

The individual traffic behaviour in pick-up or drop-off depends on the location and accessibility of the Packstation

Around 80% of registered Packstation customers integrate their pick-up trips in their daily route chains.

At Packstations in the city centre, the merchandise is most often picked up on the way to or from work. At the Packstations in the other districts of the city, pick-up and drop-off are often performed as part of daily shopping travel

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Effects on passenger transport

The proportion of pick-up trips with environmentally friendly transport modes (public transport, bicycle, pedestrian) is around 60%.

In the city centre, bus and tram are important transportation modes. In the other districts of the city, pedestrian and bicycle trips predominate.

When the Packstation locations are directly connected to public transport, the share of car traffic is about 22%.

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Effects on passenger transport

At Packstations without direct public transport connection the share of car traffic is more than 40%.

Nearly 25% of pick-up trips generate a detour and more than 30% of pick-ups entails an additional trip (extra trip).

The proportion of extra trips in the city centre (26%) is significantly below that of extra trips in the other districts (37%).

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Transport volume

Packstations in Cologne in 2005: Customer pick-up and drop-off generate a transport volume of nearly 150,000 kilometres

106.300 km

47.400 km

Gold card

Green card

Pedestrian21%

Bicycle16%

Public transport

9%

Car54%

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Evaluation of Packstation (I): impact on urban transport

Alternatives to the gold card are the green card and the orange card (orange card: when a parcel recipient is not at home to accept delivery, the parcel is deposited at a local post office).

The traffic volume per parcel is lowest for the registered Packstationcustomers.

Green card customers have a higher traffic volume per parcel.

The traffic volume per parcel is greatest with the orange card.

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Evaluation of Packstation (II): impact on urban transport

Pick-up traffic is organized more efficiently.

Customers achieve savings of time and costs.

The trip volume is reduced by 54,000 trips and the traffic volume by around 80,000 km across all transport modes.

The City of Cologne is relieved of around 35,000 vehicle kilometres of car traffic.

The environmental impact of pick-up traffic (particulates, CO2-emissions) is reduced. For example, CO2-emissions are diminished by 8 tons.

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Evaluation of Packstation (III): Diminishing environmental effects of pick-up traffic

1,000,92

0,69

0,00

0,25

0,50

0,75

1,00

Orange card Green card Gold card

CO2-emissions per parcel (normalized, orange card = 1)

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

Effects in delivery traffic

DHL can execute delivery trips more efficiently. This generates savings in time and costs.

For Cologne, Packstations resulted in a reduction of vehicle delivery mileage of 7,000 vehicle kilometres in 2005.

This leads to a reduction of CO2-emissions in delivery traffic by about 3 tons. The particulate matter burden created through delivery trips can be reduced by 1%.

Polis Annual Conference – Toulouse – 15-16 March 2007

ConclusionsPackstation customers plan their pick-up trips in advance and integrate them in their daily mobility, i.e. their daily trips. The corresponding traffic burden is reduced by 60% compared to home delivery when the recipient is absent.

The “green card” concept also contributes to optimization of pick-up traffic. This reduces the traffic burden by 15% compared to the orange card.

Pick-up traffic flows can be further optimized through a suitable choice of locations and a corresponding number of Packstations (network density).

Further optimization of pick-up traffic is achieved when Packstations are integrated in enterprise mobility management.

Relief effects are also apparent in delivery transport. The high stop factor and bundling of parcels reduces mileage in delivery transport.