Cities like New York are looking for ways to improve air quality. With the federal government directing economic stimulus toward improved rail, there would seem an opportunity to clear the air.
A Worldchanging update on an ingenious model for intercity freight distribution that uses an infrastructure already in place.
After completing a successful pilot program in Amsterdam in 2007, CityCargo is starting up a full-scale operation in Amsterdam that will cut the number of large freight trucks traversing the city by half. Amsterdam’s existing trams will carry cargo from distribution centers on the city fringe to urban hubs, where CityCargos fleet of electric vehicles will transport it a short distance to its final destination.
This blog has advocated something similar after Dan Sturges inspiration. Use electric rail, instead of over the road trucking, then either all-electric or hybrid short haulers for delivery where stop-an-go driving occurs.
2 Comments
That’s still a vehicle traveling, or more likely blocking, our asphalt covered streets. A suspended pod transit system such as proposed by J-Pods or MISTER could drop a pallet sized load anywhere along the track line. A supported system could deliver pallets to neighborhood freight processing facilities.
Sealed pallets have already been used for years in the air freight industry so no new technology is required. Roads everywhere have degraded as asphalt prices have squeezed maintenance budgets. With the current economic failure local governments aren’t going to be investing money in many road improvements as revenue drops.
For most areas the added infrastructure cost of light rail and road improvements is simply going to be too big a pig for the snake to swallow.
It is not without reason that electric vehicles with traditional lead acid batteries are referred to as lead sleds. Thus, you point about further degradation of streets is worthy of note.