The couriers activating in NYC will be delivering more packages this holiday season with four-wheeled electric carts (e-carts) on city sidewalks. The FedEx’s e-carts are a part of an expanded pilot programme launched earlier in 2022, aiming to improve deliveries in major metropolitan areas. The Trace e-carts used in the pilot project are from BrightDrop, a technology startup from GM looking to decarbonise last-mile delivery.
FedEx couriers operating the e-carts are making deliveries in five locations in New York City – the Diamond District, Theatre District, Midtown, Midtown East, and Brooklyn Heights, expanding upon an initial test site in the Diamond District in 2022. As explained on eSeller365, during its busiest season, in its densest US market, FedEx is exploring how last-mile solutions like e-carts can help couriers operate with more efficient routes.
FedEx’s strategy is reportedly heavily focused on reducing vehicle idling and redistributing delivery activity away from the curb, helping to alleviate bottlenecks on high-traffic streets.
FedEx previously took on a limited pilot programme in Manhattan, where FedEx couriers increased the number of total stops — and stops made per hour — when using the e-carts versus operations without them. This resulted in a win for couriers, customers, and the company’s goal to reduse vehicle congestion.
According to eSeller365, FedEx has publicised its goal towards carbon-neutral operations globally by 2040. With the routes included in the e-cart courier pilot now covering more than seven walking miles across the two boroughs, FedEx aims to test strategies and use the takeaways from operating the units in urban environments in order to lobby for policy changes in the last-mile delivery sector.
FedEx Express has also worked with BrightDrop to incorporate new electric vehicles into its network, the first 150 of which are out delivering to customers this season in southern California.
A study by Stand.earth cited by Financial Express indicates the last mile courier industry annually emits approximately four million tonnes of CO2 in the US. FedEx’s e-cart pilot projects fall in a wider trend of a cited unprecedented deployment of electric vehicles in delivery systems, according to a cited IEA analysis. Accenture assesses that last-mile supply chain made possible by local fulfillment centers could lower last-mile emissions between 17 and 26% through 2025. Using local fulfillment for even half of ecommerce orders between 2020 and 2025 could lead to significant impacts, Accenture specialists explain.
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