Smíchov bike depot to help with parcel deliveries on the left bank of the Vltava river
The capital city manages the rising popularity of online shopping and the subsequent increase in the number of deliveries using the Depot.bike reloading site at Těšnov Street (we wrote about it here). In December – after a year of its successful operation – Prague launched the same solution for the “last mile” delivery of consignments also on the left bank of the Vltava River. The Anděl bike depot has commenced its operation under the intersection of the City Ring Road and Plzeňská Street with eight parcel delivery companies operating their storage containers there. In this area with heavy traffic, consignments are delivered on electric cargo bikes.
The Smíchov reloading site works similarly to its counterpart: delivery companies ship their parcels to the former car park and couriers then deliver them to the customers – not only in the immediate vicinity but also in the historical old town – which, in the case of the left bank of Vltava, means Malá Strana. If the addressee does not take over the consignment, the courier returns it back to Anděl. For most of the companies, delivering consignments from the depot to the customer, i.e. the “last mile”, is the most complicated leg of the entire transport journey, and the solution implemented at Těšnov thus proved very successful. The pilot operation at Těšnov ended in May 2021 and after an evaluation, the City Hall approved it for regular operation. This relieves the city of delivery vans contributing to traffic jams and parking on the pavements or in cycle lanes. The transport companies are also happy about the solution.
The Prague City Assembly has made a commitment to reduce CO2 emissions in Prague by 45% by the end of the decade and to make the capital completely carbon-neutral by 2050. Over 20,000 consignments were delivered from the Těšnov bike depot last year. Prague is planning to follow up on the recently completed bike depot in Smíchov by building another one in a convenient location.