GHG Emissions  -  June 21, 2021

Seattle Explores Zero-Emission Last-Mile Delivery Hub

University of Washington and the Seattle Department of Transportation are collaborating on a zero-emissions last-mile delivery vehicle pilot in the Uptown neighborhood of Seattle.

The pilot, called Seattle Neighborhood Delivery Hub, was launched by UW’s Urban Freight Lab and the SDOT alongside tech and delivery companies AxleHire, Coaster Cycles, BrightDrop and REEF.

The hub will serve as a location for last-mile technology providers to test new vehicles, delivery models and technologies. It acts as a single staging location for goods to be transferred from delivery vans to cargo bikes, including a neighborhood kitchen for fulfilling restaurant delivery orders, a communal parcel locker for package delivery and a cargo-bike delivery service for last-mile goods transport.

The delivery hub also will feature sensors that provide data to evaluate energy reduction opportunities within the system.

The project is supporting the City of Seattle’s Transportation Electrification Blueprint, including transitioning 30% of goods delivery to zero emissions by 2030.

Each of the entities participating in the project will use the facility to advance their own zero-emission technology research and contribute to the advancement of more efficient last-mile delivery operations in Seattle.

“Over 60 percent of Seattle’s greenhouse gas emissions comes from transportation, so we must change how we move around in order to meet our commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050,” Sam Zimbabwe, director of the Seattle Department of Transportation, said in a statement. “Rethinking how we deliver goods is a critical part of this, so we are excited to partner with University of Washington’s Urban Freight Lab and the private sector to find innovative solutions to meet our aggressive targets towards a more sustainable future.”

Share this valuable information with your colleagues using the buttons below: