While everyone else addresses the “last-mile problem” of mass transit, there’s an even bigger last-mile problem out there.
The Rise of the Last-Mile Exchange
Park yourself at a typical residential intersection in the U.S., and you’ll watch a parade of delivery vehicles pass by over the course of the day. Trucks from FedEx, UPS, and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) crisscross neighborhoods, retrieving and delivering packages, sometimes more than once. Increasingly, they are joined by trucks from regional shippers such as OnTrac or LaserShip, as well as by unmarked vehicles with non-uniformed drivers, who drop off packages for companies including Walmart and online startups such as Roadie, Doorman, and Sidecar. Soon, fleets of vans bearing Amazon’s logo, operated by independent companies, will be joining the mix.
Hey, didn’t we just hear about traffic congestion earlier today? We did! Here: eScooter Rentals: A Civil Rights Issue? Hell Yes!
Re-quoting:
There are more than 100,000 for-hire vehicles in New York City, up from 63,000 in 2015, according to the city. More than 80,000 of them are associated with ride-hailing apps.
The increase has led to congestion on city streets, according to a 2017 report, and contributed to the troubles of the yellow cab industry. The value of a yellow cab medallion — which is required to operate a taxi — has fallen precipitously since 2014, when the city last held a medallion auction. That year, one was selling for $900,000 to $1 million, according to data from the Taxi and Limousine Commission. In June, prices ranged from $165,000 to $700,000.
Have you caught on yet?
Traffic congestion is measured with tunnelvision! There’s no mention of the increase in traffic from FedEx, UPS, USPS, and others. Congestion is siloed. And it’s siloed based on politics and the graft factor.
I could go on about how eScooters could help with this, but it’s very early in the morning for such detailed thinking and, frankly, I grow weary of doing all the thinking for others — and doing it for free.
Just never forget this statistic:
And then ask yourself: What’s the average length of a local package delivery?
Previously here:
Chronological List Of Electric Scooter Posts
eScooters category
Mike Cane's Atomic Supermen 