The city is offering cash incentives for trucking companies and small businesses to reduce daytime deliveries that clog city streets with more overnight routes in anticipation of congestion pricing.
Added costs and logistical hurdles often prevent small operations from embracing deliveries between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. But with just weeks ahead of the June 30 launch of congestion pricing, and the up to $36 daytime charge it will bring for trucks entering Manhattan below 60th Street, the Department of Transportation says it will dole out $6 million in incentive payments for businesses to switch to overnight deliveries. That sweetens the pot since the companies will also save on congestion pricing fees, which during overnight hours drop to $8 or less for trucks.
The imminent congestion pricing tolls may heat up the historically lukewarm reception of mom-and-pop shops to move to overnight deliveries, business advocates say.
“The difference between now and past years is that congestion pricing could be a catalyst if there is more support, including financial from the city,” said Andrew Regie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance. “It seems an appropriate time to at least have a discussion about offsetting the congestion fees by transitioning to overnight deliveries.”
Large companies, including Anheuser Busch-Inbev, Whole Foods Market and Just Salad, already participate in DOT’s Off-Hour Delivery program, which will oversee the new financial incentives. The new funds are geared toward smaller operations that may not be able to afford the added costs of having staff present for overnight deliveries, purchasing noise-mitigating equipment or be dedicating capacity to coordinate with shippers.
Transit officials say another $5 million committed through the congestion pricing program will help the city grow its off-hour trucking program.
Roughly 90% of the city’s goods are moved through New York City by truck, with more than 120,000 trucks entering and exiting the boroughs each day, according to city data. Businesses tend to receive their deliveries during the middle of the day when streets are at their most congested and the demand for curb space is at its highest.
Transit officials say shifting commercial deliveries to evening and overnight hours can reduce the glut of daytime truck traffic — and the street safety dangers that come with them — while also curbing costs for shippers. Businesses get the advantage of having their goods at the start of a day, instead of having to take time away from customers to process inventory.
“Our whole business model came out of this pain point,” said Dane Atkinson, chief executive of Odeko, a shipper that offers off-hour deliveries to coffee shops and bakeries. While at a Manhattan coffee shop one morning Atkinson described watching a barista struggle to juggle orders with an arriving shipment of inventory.
“It’s rough on the business staff to manage that process, it’s rough on the customers,” said Atkinson. “And it’s not how Starbucks and other big brands work because they know the benefit of night and they know that loading when you don’t have customers is a better way to go.”
Odeko makes off-hour deliveries to some 1,400 businesses in the city, with the exception of a few locations that require daytime services such as the World Trade Center. Atkinson says an Odeko truck tends to make 35 deliveries around the city during off-peak hours, but traffic during the day often limits that number to less than 20.
Most of the company’s deliveries are actually to unattended shops, but it can be a challenge for shippers to get businesses comfortable with taking on the liability of providing access, whether that’s through a set of keys or a security code. “It requires the small business to have trust in their partner,” said Atkinson.
Zach Miller, director of metro operations at the New York Trucking Association, says he sees small retailers and certain eateries, such as delis and bodegas, as ideal for overnight deliveries. Unattended deliveries offer perhaps the most challenging and exciting opportunity for businesses, he added.
“It’s a big perk to know that a shipper can come to a facility, unload and put items on the shelves before a store has even opened,” Miller said. “That’s where I think there’s options for growth, and if the demand is there fleet managers can adapt.”
Transit officials will host two webinars on June 3 and June 10 to provide more information about the incentive program and how businesses can apply for funds.
Caroline Spivack , 2024-05-08 12:03:04
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