Hopley calls for road-network rethink to handle online shopping demands and community concerns
By Ruza Zivkusic-Aftasi | September 9, 2013
Truck curfews on local streets and the boom in online shopping are putting a strain on the transport industry, one of Australia’s oldest transport companies says.
Murphy Transport has been operating in Yarraville, in Melbourne’s west, for 156 years and is facing increasing challenges in delivering food products to customers, Chief Operating Officer Brendan Hopley says.
Online shopping is impacting freight delivery, with consumers demanding evening and weekend dispersal, he adds.
Speaking at last week’s Freight Week event, Hopley believes a better use of the local road network is needed.
“The number one challenge facing us all is online shopping,” he says.
“The industry and local government need to work together to manage trucks accessing the local road network.
“Times are changing along with consumer expectations; the Internet is bringing about changes about delivering goods.
“This has resulted in a massive increase in demand for home deliveries which in turn has had a significant impact on the volume of trucks on local roads.
“VicRoads’ assets are valued at $43 billion and yet they’re only used fully around four to six hours a day.”
Whilst he supports local truck curfews, Hopley says the industry needs to work with communities to change the view of trucks and lift unnecessary restrictions.
VicRoads has introduced new curfews on Yarraville’s three main streets recently to allow access to Somerville Road, Francis Street
and Buckley Street, allowing entry to only those that are loading or unloading.
“We as an industry need to work with local communities to change the perception about trucks and lift where possible unnecessary curfews,” Hopley says.
“We’re not saying cut out every curfew – we, as a business, understand and support curfews where trucks are using urban streets or local streets as a shortcut.
“Consumers need to understand that all goods pass through the supply chain, whether that’s petrol, pharmaceutical or dairy products.
“So help us out, guys; we need to work and we need to have smarter vehicles as quieter vehicles so that we’re not disturbing residents at night.”
The family-owned business has third-generation drivers that live in the local area.
They too are
affected by how freight is being delivered, Hopley says.
“We’d like to think that we are good corporate citizens; we respect the comfort and enjoyment of local residents,” he says.
“We’re not the enemy and we’re a little tired of those in the industry of being described as monster trucks.”
“The majority of the industry is responsible operators and most of our employees live in the local community so what we do during the day impacts our own families.”
