DECARBOMILE in action – Logroño installs first smart lockers for last-mile delivery
As one of DECARBOMILE’s living labs, Logroño has now installed the first of four smart locker units to be deployed across various commercial zones in the city, serving local businesses and their customers for last-mile delivery. Logroño thus continues its path in developing carbon-neutral goods delivery, with the aim of promoting a more sustainable urban delivery system for local businesses, as well as reducing traffic and emissions.
First installation: San Blas Market
The initial set of lockers is located close to San Blas Market, a focal point of the city centre. Here, they help optimise distribution routes and promote greener, more environmentally friendly goods deliveries for the market and nearby merchants.
This installation is the first of four modules – each comprising nine smart lockers, so 36 lockers in total – that the Logroño City Council will be setting up in different commercial areas of the city, including the city centre, the Paseo de las Cien Tiendas commercial area, and the ZOCO commercial area. The lockers will offer a range of services to local businesses and their customers.
Providing services for both local businesses and citizens
According to Miguel Sainz, the Councillor for City’s Promotion, “these smart lockers will provide local businesses with a new way of delivering orders to customers and tourists outside normal opening hours”. With a particular focus on local businesses, these pilot services are free of charge for local shops that submit an official request to the City’s European Funds Office. Local retailers may request a code to share with their customers, who can use the lockers as ‘baggage storage’ to temporarily store their purchases for up to 24 hours. This service allows citizens to combine a shopping trip with leisure activities.
The lockers are accessible through the PVerde app, developed by DECARBOMILE project partner Intelligent Parking. The pilot scheme runs until 31st August.
DECARBOMILE: European cooperation to decarbonise urban logistics
Logroño, alongside 31 partners from ten different countries, is part of Horizon Europe project DECARBOMILE, which aims to lead innovation and drive improvements in decarbonising last-mile logistics.
“This is an innovation project that also seeks to encourage the switch from combustion-engine vans to zero-emission vehicles for urban deliveries, making a significant contribution to reducing traffic and emissions in our city,”
– Councillor Miguel Sainz
The solutions developed within the project aim to demonstrate the potential of decarbonised last-mile urban logistics across four Living Labs: Hamburg, Istanbul, Logroño and Nantes. The project also involves four satellite sites – Getafe, Ghent, Sarajevo and Tallinn – which are participating on a smaller scale to test, study, and adapt some of the solutions to their own local socio-economic contexts.
Sources (ES):