DPD rolls out the electric three-wheelers
DPD has been rolling out more information about its alternative deliver fleet, with an announcement about its use of eight fully-electric TRIPL tricycles for parcel delivery in the German cities of Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne.
In a statement posted on its website yesterday (5 June), Gerd Seber, Group Manager Sustainability & Innovation at DPD Germany, said: “Delivery in the city centre is one of the biggest challenges for parcel services like DPD.
“While parcel volumes are growing rapidly, inner-city traffic is also growing. This is where our TRIPLs can help, because they make much faster progress on narrow and congested inner-city streets than our conventional delivery vans. The emission-free electric drive of the TRIPL not only reduces traffic but also helps to conserve the environment”.
DPD said that the TRIPL is well-suited to delivering in areas where there are access restrictions for conventional vans and “in the future the TRIPLs could also be helpful within the context of imminent driving bans in the city centre”.
However, the company believes the TRIPL’s current range and load capacity limitations meant it would not be a complete replacement for conventional vans.
DPD explained: “The charging capacity of the TRIPL battery is sufficient for urban delivery rounds of 80-100 km, while its maximum speed is 45 km/h. The transport volume of the TRIPL amounts to 200 kg and 750 litres, so that up to 50 smallish parcels can fit under the prominent bonnet of the electric tricycle. During a delivery round the TRIPL delivery driver may have to load up the tricycle with parcels several times. For this purpose the TRIPL either docks with a conventional van or loads up with parcels again at a micro-depot. Micro-depots are small trans-shipment points located directly in the urban delivery area. They are supplied with parcels in the morning by truck or van, while distribution in the delivery area is then carried out by smaller vehicles – for example by transport bikes or nowadays with the TRIPL.”
As previously reported by Post&Parcel, DPD announced early this week that it has made a significant reduction in its carbon emissions over the past five years by introducing more environmentally-friendly vehichles and optimizing its delivery operations.
