Since the invention of the bicycle Dubliners have been delivering goods around the city on two wheels. From butcher boys to post men, the bike has been delivering for Dublin for a very long time. Now with the improvement in Ireland’s economy and the need to enhance the efficiency of deliveries, while at the same time reducing congestion and its environmental impacts, cycle logistics are even more important for Dublin. Here’s what’s happening.

Since May 2017, Dublin City Council (DCC) has facilitated an exciting and innovative pilot scheme run by multinational deliveries company UPS. Early each morning, a container loaded with parcels is parked on-street in the centre of Dublin. A team of UPS personnel delivers the parcels by walking and by using cargo bikes and electrically assisted cargo bikes.

In just eighteen months, UPS has managed to eliminate 200 stop/start truck movements per day by taking three diesel trucks off the streets of Dublin. This has led to a carbon reduction of 19,200kg CO2 per year. All this and they have increased the reliability and efficiency of their deliveries because their walkers and cargo bike cyclists are not slowed down when the traffic gets heavy.

May 2018 saw the launch of our Last Mile Delivery SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) scheme. Co-funded by Enterprise Ireland, the challenge of how to improve deliveries in Dublin was put out to the market. Twenty-five companies made submissions and six were chosen for Phase 1 with really innovative solutions tailored to Dublin.

These include using consolidation centres and smaller city centre delivery hubs (more later!); a novel way to get your on-line shopping delivered by an in-store shopper; virtual loading bays bookable by app; another app that connects cycle logistics riders with city businesses who need something delivered; and an expansion of the UPS initiative which includes small electric containers hitched to bicycles.

Dublin City has three cycle sharing schemes - Just Eat dublinbikes; BleeperBike; and Urbo and the second two providers are stationless bike schemes. These type of bikes are growing in popularity due to their flexibility and have the potential to make a real difference in nudging modal shift!

Just Eat dublinbikes is a fixed station scheme - it has been a game changer for transport in Dublin. One of the most successful bike sharing schemes in Europe, it has been hugely significant in getting people to shift to pedal power.

Now DCC wants cargo bike sharing schemes. We see great potential in such an initiative and are looking at ways to make it happen. Through collaborating with and facilitating service providers, DCC hopes to see cargo bike sharing in Dublin by June 2019, just in time for Velo-city!

As promised, a word about Delivery Hubs. Following the success of the UPS operation, Dublin City Council enacted new Bye Laws in November 2018 to facilitate companies to set up small, on-street delivery hubs in the city centre.

DCC will favour hubs that use walking and cycling for last mile deliveries because we want to lower environmental impacts and reduce the damage to footpaths and the public realm from trucks. Operators will have to share some data with us so we can quantify the improvements but cycle deliveries are much more City centre friendly and we want to do all we can to encourage them.

There’s lots happening with cycling in Dublin, especially with cycle logistics. So, come visit us in Dublin during Velo City June 25 - 28 2019 and see for yourself. We’ll talk to you then!

Author: Dublin City Council

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