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Grass8989 t1_j9vjwd9 wrote

Reply to comment by solo-ran in Burying Moses' biggest middle finger to the city? Plan to tunnel the BQE being discussed by scooterflaneuse

I was being ironic because people would actually suggest that and be serious.

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TeamMisha t1_j9wdo46 wrote

No one (reputable, that I've seen anyways) is suggesting we entirely replace trucks with bikes, come on lol. The use cases being studied and considered are expanding what we already do, such as Amazon using cargo bikes for neighborhood level last mile delivery. UPS is piloting it too. This is private enterprise doing this btw, no one is forcing them, Amazon is all about money so IMO it says a lot they favor using this method when possible meaning it's probably quite cost effective.

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Grass8989 t1_j9wiuz2 wrote

Amazon is quickly transfering their fleet to EVs, so they’re already significantly decreasing costs. I’ve been seeing their rivian based vans all over the place.

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TeamMisha t1_j9wj7bh wrote

Yes they use the vans as well. The bikes they use in Manhattan all over the place and also via Whole Foods. This is in essence studying "mini logistics" systems, you send the truck to unload at a mini warehouse and then use cargo bikes or other sort of micro vehicles to ship out the goods. Gorilla and Getr use(d) this model as well. It doesn't necessarily make sense to use a van or truck for all cases.

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pompcaldor t1_j9ymk6t wrote

If “mini warehouse” means a truck occupying and blocking a bike lane, then yes.

Edit: more recent evidence of mini warehouses parked illegally

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TeamMisha t1_j9yxp1d wrote

Don't mean that, no. I mean a physical building. Amazon, unfortunately, uses trucks as the logistics center and will have up to a dozen workers unpack and sort the contents right there in the street or sidewalk and often, as you mention, block bike lanes, bus lanes, or the road itself. There is some discussion about moving this behavior to actual logistics centers, and discussions about zoning that would allow this, since "warehousing" is technically a different zone type then retail. In the case of Whole Foods, however, they park bikes outside the store where they load them and send them out, that's the more ideal model, or if they were to rent space to use as storage hubs. I'm opposed to their truck model, unless, they can park it safely. That's another discussion though about curb management.

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solo-ran t1_j9w9tyo wrote

I should have guessed… instead I thought: could we make deliveries with a cargo ebike? Sometimes maybe. And if we had a building and safe efficient bike paths, did small deliveries… maybe it would be better in some ways. It’s actually a good idea - without replacing sitting in a truck on the BQE wishing there were more to life. The truck still would have to get to the warehouse.

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