Renewed federal interest in mass transit options to put pressure on city centre distribution
The shift in emphasis in Canberra towards supporting public transport to alleviate congestion may present a challenge in central business districts (CBDs), the Australian Logistics Council believes.
“The Commonwealth has signalled its renewed interest in urban planning and public passenger transport, and a number of state governments are currently funding significant infrastructure upgrades in their CBDs to encourage greater bus, tram and train patronage,” ALC CEO Michael Kilgariff says.
“These will all have an impact on the logistics task, and so it’s important that we have a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the industry in terms of delivering efficiently to our CBDs.
“This includes a better understanding of how we leverage new and emerging technologies to meet increased freight flows in our major cities.
“This is a particularly important issue for our industry in light of the fact that more and more people are turning to the Internet to buy goods online and want their products delivered more efficiently, and in a way that is convenient to them, such as at work.”
With public transport modes taking space in formerly open thoroughfares but the need for on-time delivery never higher, innovation is crucial, and not just for freight firms.
“The logistics sector is continually looking at ways to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the urgent delivery of freight to their customers,” Kilgariff says.
“A number of companies are trialling, or have rolled out, new delivery systems to cater for how people want their parcels delivered.
“This is one of the issues I hope delegates discuss at the upcoming ALC Forum.
“The changes which are occurring to how freight is delivered to our CBDs, or are set to occur, also throw up a range of challenges for government, including how to best cope with increasing congestion to cope with rising freight movements in our CBDs.
“This reality underscores the need for appropriate planning at the local level to ensure freight vehicles, including small trucks and courier vans, have good access to pick up and drop off areas.
“The upcoming ALC Forum will tackle this issue, including the business and operational challenges of CBD freight delivery and what businesses are doing to address these issues, including new business model, multi-agency collaborations and what type of technology can be used to help address these challenges.”