Netherlands tests small urban freight trucks

Solar powered citywide system

Jay Blazek Crossley, Sep 13, 11.

The fourth largest city and others in the Netherlands are testing a system of establishing freight hubs outside of the dense, urban area connected to businesses via slender, solar powered cargo trucks and “truck trains” making final deliveries, according to Treehugger:

In the Dutch cities of Utrecht and Haarlem, and later this month in the city of Enschede, a partnership between municipal agencies and a company called Hoek has lead to a new type of truck delivery appearing on the streets. In both Utrecht and Enschede, retailers in the core of the inner city agreed to have needed goods shipped by large freight trucks to a depot ten kilometers outside city limits, then trucked by Cargohopper tiny electric “truck train” delivery vehicles directly to shop locations.

This solves two problems - no more huge trucks idling in the shopping streets during peak hours (there are already strict rules in place in the Netherlands limiting delivery times), and less need for shopkeepers to have big loads delivered, as the Cargohopper can make smaller, more frequent deliveries from the depots each day. The EV tractor that pulls Cargohopper’s small cargo containers is powered by a 28 horsepower engine, and can replace from 5 to 8 regular delivery trucks, according to Hoek.

The Cargohopper is a long and narrow “train” that easily manuevers Dutch inner cities’ cramped streets. It has a maximum speed of just 12 kilometers per hour, which is deemed fine for the deliveries the Cargohopper makes. The Cargohopper can go do about 60 kilometers of deliveries each day. At this point, it can delivery packages, but not pallets. It also performs a great function for inner-city shop keepers by taking their used cardboard and packaging materials for recycling. Hoek paid for the EV delivery vehicles and for the extra work hours needed to handle delivery logistics. In return, it has gotten permits to do deliveries during all business hours, and a grant to put solar photovoltaic panels on the Utrecht Cargohopper. In addition, the company is using EV delivery truck as a method for training young drivers.