A fleet of smaller vans would need more employees and in total travel far more miles and consume more fuel in total. They might have to make deliveries more often.
What would the environmental and monetary trade off be to switch Dunkins to Ford Transit vans from whatever large trucks they use now? I'd like to see a formal study, not speculation. (I don't care about Dunkin's profit margin, but would still be interesting to know how much more expensive, if at all, it would actually be.)
Socially, I don't know if it's better to have fewer large vehicles or more smaller vehicles. A large truck is less safe but that's countered by more trips with the smaller vehicle.
It would be interesting to have more information, for sure. I will say I'm often shocked, looking into the back of some of these large trucks as I'm stuck in traffic they're creating by being semi-double-parked or blocking visibility. Lots of half-empty trailers. I guess it's worth it because they only have to pay for one guy to drive it around, whether they're using all the space or not? Not sure why they couldn't downsize to some 10-12 foot uhaul style trucks, but again, probably worth it for the companies because then on the occasional day they do have huge amounts to move they don't have to play musical trucks to allocate resources.
I'm not 100% sold on who will win the the bigger trucks / more vans argument but I do think there is a reliance on the particularly massive trucks out of convenience and corporate penny pinching and there's probably less disruptive changes (again, smaller trucks) that wouldn't impact the companies too much but would still be a big benefit for everyone else in the city.
More employees, but none of which who need a CDL (the lack of which is actually choking the shipping industry right now). Also, nothing says they have to be employees of Dunkin' as they can do the same as Amazon, etc. and contractor to lots of drivers who spend the rest of their day driving other goods for other companies.
The mileage will depend on location. Some of these trucks drive convoluted routes to hit all their stops in one go and using only the roads they're allowed to take. Having individual vans hitting 2-3 proximal stops means they can take far more direct routes from the hub and use all roads.
Environmentally, cargo vans get ~3x better fuel efficiency and burn unleaded, not diesel. There's also a MUCH bigger push to electrify cargo/delivery vans than tractor trailers.
The scientific literature indicates that the size reduction of the vehicles (and likewise capacity) used for last mile deliveries in urban areas as a more sustainable and efficient alternative for this type of operation. It is noteworthy that pressures imposed on traffic, due to aspects related to land use, such as restrictions on truck movement and geographic/historical aspects, have made the operation of last mile deliveries, traditionally done by trucks, a challenge. For this reason, the observed frequency of references suggests that deliveries should be done by bicycles/tricycles/motorcycles (42%) or light commercial vehicles (58%).
Again, I’m not defending DD’s use of the big trucks but I’d like to see a case study with someone who has access to their internal data. If smaller trucks would save them money they’d already be using them. That’s not saying big trucks are socially good (I’m not defending them) but sometimes things are not as obvious as they seem.
But if we’re speculating, I suspect the real reason they use big trucks is so they can transport 5’ tall wheeled racks on vehicles with lift gates. That makes it easy for a single person to fairly quickly unload the truck and takes up minimal floor space in the restaurant. Smaller delivery units would require more labor to move and increase the chances something is dropped or misplaced.
Comments
Or...
We could outlaw 18 wheeler delivery vehicles and he could get his donuts by transport van...which could navigate Ayr Road just fine.
Sign them up for the Boston e
Sign them up for the Boston e-cargo bike delivery pilot
I'm always curious about the details
A fleet of smaller vans would need more employees and in total travel far more miles and consume more fuel in total. They might have to make deliveries more often.
What would the environmental and monetary trade off be to switch Dunkins to Ford Transit vans from whatever large trucks they use now? I'd like to see a formal study, not speculation. (I don't care about Dunkin's profit margin, but would still be interesting to know how much more expensive, if at all, it would actually be.)
Socially, I don't know if it's better to have fewer large vehicles or more smaller vehicles. A large truck is less safe but that's countered by more trips with the smaller vehicle.
It would be interesting to
It would be interesting to have more information, for sure. I will say I'm often shocked, looking into the back of some of these large trucks as I'm stuck in traffic they're creating by being semi-double-parked or blocking visibility. Lots of half-empty trailers. I guess it's worth it because they only have to pay for one guy to drive it around, whether they're using all the space or not? Not sure why they couldn't downsize to some 10-12 foot uhaul style trucks, but again, probably worth it for the companies because then on the occasional day they do have huge amounts to move they don't have to play musical trucks to allocate resources.
I'm not 100% sold on who will win the the bigger trucks / more vans argument but I do think there is a reliance on the particularly massive trucks out of convenience and corporate penny pinching and there's probably less disruptive changes (again, smaller trucks) that wouldn't impact the companies too much but would still be a big benefit for everyone else in the city.
A few wrong assumptions
More employees, but none of which who need a CDL (the lack of which is actually choking the shipping industry right now). Also, nothing says they have to be employees of Dunkin' as they can do the same as Amazon, etc. and contractor to lots of drivers who spend the rest of their day driving other goods for other companies.
The mileage will depend on location. Some of these trucks drive convoluted routes to hit all their stops in one go and using only the roads they're allowed to take. Having individual vans hitting 2-3 proximal stops means they can take far more direct routes from the hub and use all roads.
Environmentally, cargo vans get ~3x better fuel efficiency and burn unleaded, not diesel. There's also a MUCH bigger push to electrify cargo/delivery vans than tractor trailers.
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/8/1324/htm
Again
Again, I’m not defending DD’s use of the big trucks but I’d like to see a case study with someone who has access to their internal data. If smaller trucks would save them money they’d already be using them. That’s not saying big trucks are socially good (I’m not defending them) but sometimes things are not as obvious as they seem.
But if we’re speculating, I suspect the real reason they use big trucks is so they can transport 5’ tall wheeled racks on vehicles with lift gates. That makes it easy for a single person to fairly quickly unload the truck and takes up minimal floor space in the restaurant. Smaller delivery units would require more labor to move and increase the chances something is dropped or misplaced.
Whatever
I gave you a meta-study that analysed a lot of other studies.
You now want Dunkin's data? Go fuck yourself. They're not special.
Wow
Someone's being awfully grouchy.
weekly?
They're not delivering daily from the bakery?
Also, isn't the proper way to do things here just to open a second Dunkin instead of moving?