NYC will create 20 ‘micro’ delivery hubs this summer to reduce truck traffic
Photo by carlfbagge on Flickr
Starting this summer, New York City will create new hubs to make package delivery more sustainable and efficient, while also reducing truck congestion. As part of a pilot program announced by the Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, the new “microhubs” include dedicated curbside or off-street locations for trucks to unload packages onto smaller, energy-efficient vehicles or human-powered transportation like bikes and hand carts that will bring deliveries to their destination.
Image courtesy of the NYC Department of Transportation
More than 80 percent of city residents have at least one package ordered online delivered to their homes each week, with 18 percent receiving packages four or more days per week. Currently, roughly 90 percent of NYC’s goods are transported using trucks, a dependence which congests the roadways, pollutes the air and negatively affects the quality of life.
As part of the first phase, which starts this fall and extends into the fall, the DOT will create up to 20 local “microhubs” sites at both curbside and off-street locations. Locations will be selected based on their distance to high-density areas, truck routes, public transit, and bike lane networks, and based on feedback from the local community.
“New Yorkers are receiving more deliveries than ever before, and we are pursuing creative ways to make these deliveries cleaner, safer, and more efficient by reducing the number of delivery trucks on our roads,” Rodriguez said.
“These hubs will help better organize last-mile deliveries and support small and large businesses’ economic recovery as we emerge from the pandemic.”
The city’s transit agency collected feedback from 23 respondents after issuing a request for expressions of interest (RFEI) last August to help guide their selection of locations and shape the program. The program is one part of the agency’s broader effort to reevaluate the way the city’s curb spaces can better meet the demands of e-commerce.
Image courtesy of the NYC Department of Transportation
Phase two of the program is projected to run from fall 2024 to 2026 and will see the creation of additional local delivery hubs, an expansion of private-sector partners, the use of emerging technologies, reevalicuating regulatory changes, and gaining insight to develop a permanent microhub program.
“With the rampant rise of deliveries via truck drastically changing our streetscape, it’s critical that we find ways to reduce the negative impacts to safety, the environment, and quality of life,” Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said.
“Increasing the number of loading zones, transitioning to greener transportation methods, and activating off-street space for managing deliveries will make New York’s complex delivery network more sustainable, both environmentally and logistically,”
DOT hopes to issue a final report of the program by late 2026. A more detailed view of the program can be found here.
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