Potential for off-peak freight deliveries to commercial areas

As discussed throughout the project (Holguin-Veras 2006), the implementation of off-peak deliveries (OPD) requires both receivers that are willing to accept deliveries during the off-peak hours, as well as carriers willing to provide the service. The project highlighted that receivers, by virtue of being the end customer, have a great deal of influence on what the carriers do. In this context, should a significant number of receivers decide to request off-peak deliveries, it is almost certain that the carriers would follow suit. This fact has important implications because short of mandatory regulations forcing the private sector to do off-peak deliveries-it is clear that the long-term sustainability of off-peak delivery programs require policy incentives to mitigate the impacts on receivers, which are likely to face additional costs. On the other hand, carriers-that stand to benefit from the increased productivity derived from faster travel speeds during the off-peak hours-are likely to participate in off-peak deliveries if sufficient number of receivers request the service. These concepts are to be kept in mind throughout this section. This report focuses on the implementation of off-peak delivery policies.