Green Economy Journal Issue 61

ITDP
MOBILITY
LAST-MILE DELIVERIES
Last-mile deliveries occupy a crucial role in urban logistics by facilitating
the transportation of goods from central distribution centres to their
final destinations. However, relying solely on motorised vehicles is
costly, limits accessibility and contributes to traffic congestion and
greenhouse gas emissions.
Tactical cycling lanes create safe and efficient last-mile delivery
options by separating micromobility devices (including NMT) from
larger vehicles travelling at high speeds and pedestrians walking
slowly (figure 4). Investing in these lanes brings about reduced
travel times for last-mile deliveries using e-bikes as it facilitates
more deliveries to be accomplished almost matching, and in certain
circumstances surpassing, those delivered by motorised vehicles.
E-bikes navigate congested areas better than larger vehicles.
Currently, in Cape Town and Johannesburg, last-mile deliveries
are made mostly by motorised vehicles with an average speed of
20km per hour. This speed is the same as most bicycles in cities,
while e-bicycles are on average limited to 25km per hour in
cities. By implementing dedicated lanes that are connected and
protected at intersections, last-mile delivery companies like Green
Riders in Cape Town can, along with other NMT users, overcome
traffic congestion and bolster decarbonisation in the land-use and
transportation sectors.
The city of Chennai, India, spent the last seven years implementing
dedicated bicycle lanes which have successfully benefited the
local last-mile delivery economy. It started with small policies and
tactical cycling lanes in 2014 and remained dedicated to this effort,
even by increasing its tactical lanes investment in 2020. Chennai
served as an example for other cities, such as Pune, which later
planned to transform 300km of streets into new bicycle lanes. Since
2020, over 100 cities in India have developed their own cycling
programme following the Cycles4Change Challenge set by the
national government.
Figure 5. Before and after tactical lanes in Chennai, India.
Furthermore, tactical cycling lanes support endeavours toward
sustainability by promoting eco-friendly practices. E-micromobility
devices emit fewer emissions than traditional motorised vehicles,
aligning with sustainability goals and reducing the carbon footprint
of a city while mitigating the consequences of climate change.
Operation costs are reduced, particularly for businesses engaged
in last-mile delivery, which is one of the main drivers for African cities
adopting the lane infrastructure. E-micromobility vehicles are more
economical to purchase and maintain compared to motorised vehicles.
They require less fuel, entail lower maintenance expenses and do not
subject companies to costs related to parking or congestion charges.
Such cost advantages enable delivery companies, particularly SMEs,
to operate more competitively by improving profit margins while
creating youth-focused, green and local jobs.
AFFORDABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS
On average, building a kilometre of urban highway costs the same
as building 150km of bicycle paths and 10 000km of tactical cycling
lanes. Cape Town, which has an insignificant NMT budget and
outdated approach to cycling facilities, is ripe for innovation in
mobility planning. Unlike large-scale infrastructure projects that
demand extensive financial investments and lengthy implementation
periods, tactical cycling lanes can be quickly executed at a fraction of
the cost. The affordability stems from their adaptable nature, created
using temporary materials like paint, bollards, kerbs and signage.
The cost-effective approach allows cities to pilot and test cycling
infrastructure before committing to permanent installations. By
observing user feedback and usage patterns, adjustments can be
made to ensure optimal efficiency. Tactical cycling lanes can also
be implemented incrementally starting with key corridors before
expanding as demand increases.
That is exactly how South America’s Bogotá, Columbia, could
expand its bicycle network of over 80km to the already existing
550km in just a few hours. They used temporary materials that
they could easily move, allowing them to test other locations.
They tried three different locations within three days. This phased
and agile approach reduces the initial investment required while
immediately benefiting e-micromobility users. It enables cities
to allocate resources efficiently by focusing on areas with the
highest demand and significant impact on last-mile deliveries and
movement of people.
The effectiveness of tactical cycling infrastructure lies in its ability
to create a connected network of dedicated lanes for e-micromobility.
Strategic planning ensures seamless connectivity between crucial
destinations such as residential areas, commercial districts and
transportation hubs. The comprehensive network encourages
the adoption of e-micromobility by providing safe and efficient
routes throughout journeys. In addition, these lanes maximise
their effectiveness by repurposing underutilised road space or
reallocating lanes from motorised vehicles. This optimisation
minimises conflicts between different road users without requiring
extensive construction or disrupting traffic flow.
The city of Jakarta, Indonesia, is a great example. During the
pandemic, temporary bicycle lanes were implemented and modified
to be the most effectively used. The result was an increase of
50% to 500% of cyclists. The city is now focused on using shared
e-micromobility for first/last mile solutions to attract more people.
In this example, the scalability of tactical cycling infrastructure
is worth noting. As the demand for e-micromobility increases
alongside last-mile deliveries, cities can expand the network of
cycling lanes accordingly.
Protected intersections are usually forgotten in cycling lane design.
Despite the radical increase in separated cycling lanes in the last
decade globally, unprotected cycling intersections are enough to
discourage cycling. Intersections that include slip lanes are widespread
across major African cities with wide-turning radii for cars creating
very unsafe spaces for cyclists and pedestrians alike.
In the City of Melbourne, research indicates a stark contrast in
cyclist confidence levels based on intersection protection. Only
16% of riders report feeling confident cycling through unprotected
intersections, compared to a significant 73% who feel secure with
protected intersections. This disparity is more evident when comparing
confidence levels associated with protected lanes versus merely
painted lanes: 22% versus the low 16% for intersections, respectively.
Rather than new infrastructure projects that can be expensive,
time-consuming and potentially divisive, tactical urbanism
deploys quick, often temporary, solutions to test and refine urban
interventions. In the context of intersection redesign, tactical cycling
lanes offer flexible, incremental ways to redesign an intersection
in several forms.
Figure 6. Example of a tactical intersection to protect both cyclists
and pedestrians.
The scalability of tactical cycling lanes extends beyond physicality
by incorporating smart technologies and data-driven solutions to
enhance user experience and optimise operational efficiency. By
utilising real-time data on e-micromobility usage patterns, cities
can strategically place charging stations, identify areas with high
demand and plan future infrastructure developments accordingly.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
Public-private partnerships present a new opportunity to build muchneeded
infrastructure for the economy. It is clear from research that
safe and dedicated cycling lanes have a catalytic role to play but the
question then becomes how do we build this tactical intervention
in the background of a collapsing state?
Tactical cycling lanes that are cheaper, experimental and effective
allow for the private sector through the Safe Passage Programme
to make big changes to South African roads. An example of such is
*Written by Roland Postma and Brice de Meester
MOBILITY
a partnership between the Suppliers Development Initiative (SDI)
Micro-Enterprise Trust and Young Urbanists NPC, which seeks to
empower the micro-economy through fleet partners like Green
Riders by creating safe infrastructure for them to access markets.
The Safe Passage Programme, with its focus on connecting informal
and formal areas, is in the process of putting down more than 800
tactical bollards in Cape Town on existing cycling lanes to make it
safer for green riders and the public.
The City of Cape Town’s Department of Urban Mobility approved
the assessment in early 2023 and construction is set to take place
during the latter parts of 2023 with the funds being secured through
the SDI Micro-Enterprise Trust. This is only phase 01 of the first Safe
Passage that will look to complete a safe route between Langa and
the CBD of Cape Town (Figures 2 and 4 refer).
Other planned Safe Passages include Masiphumelele to Fish Hoek,
Cape Town and Mamelodi to Pretoria East with CityConsolidator
Africa. Masiphumelele to Fish Hoek is another big opportunity where
more than 20% of the residents of the township are cyclists, while
the primary mode is taxis, followed by walking.
Mamelodi to Pretoria East also showcases a considerable healthy
portion of the population using cycling to get to work in both areas,
research has shown cyclists from these areas cite unsafe infrastructure
followed by crime as being the biggest barriers in their commute.
Both areas can be used for fleet partners like Green Riders and other
companies to train and hire local youth when the implementation
of safe cycling lanes commences.
African cities confront unique challenges driven by rapid
urbanisation. This necessitates proactive strategies to address the
associated strains on society and the economy. E-micromobility
presents a low-hanging fruit solution to Africa’s transportation
challenges fully unlocking its potential hinges on aligning
infrastructure development with these goals. Tactical cycling
lanes come to the fore as pivotal catalysts for this expansion.
By fostering the growth of tactical cycling infrastructure,
policymakers, transport engineers and urban planners can create
an interconnected network of efficient routes. This urbanism
approach combined with resources sourced through public-private
partnerships reduces the financial burden and enables cities to
respond swiftly to evolving needs. By investing in infrastructure
and harnessing the potential of e-micromobility, African cities
can pave the way toward an enduring, and all-encompassing
urban transportation system.
E-micromobility presents a lowhanging
fruit solution to Africa’s
urban transportation challenges.
REFERENCES
Germán A. Carvajal, Olga L. Sarmiento, Andrés L. Medaglia, Sergio Cabrales, Daniel A. Rodríguez, D. Alex Quistberg, Segundo López. 2020. Bicycle safety in Bogotá: A seven-year analysis of bicyclists’ collisions
and fatalities. Accident Analysis & Prevention. 144: 1 – 12.
Pishue, B. and Brainard, A. 2023. 2023 INRIX “Return to Office” Report.
Rosas-Satizábal, D. and Rodriguez-Valencia, A. 2019. Factors and policies explaining the emergence of the bicycle commuter in Bogotá. Case Studies on Transport Policy. 7 (1): 138-149.
Schleinitz, K., Petzoldt, T., Franke-Bartholdt, L., Krems, J.F., & Gehlert, T. 2017. The German Naturalistic Cycling Study – Comparing cycling speed of riders of different e-bikes and conventional bicycles. Safety
Science. 92: 290 - 297.
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