NYC Transportation Leaders Unveil Plans For More Efficient, Environmentally Friendly Way To Transport Goods, Deliver Packages
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- With more people shopping online, New York City is trying to change how the packages get to your door.
Wednesday, transportation leaders unveiled a plan that would reduce how many large trucks are on the streets, especially during rush hour, hoping to address pollution and gridlock.
On any given day, more than 1 million packages are being delivered across the city, which means thousands of trucks, mostly guzzling diesel fuel, are regularly navigating our streets.
"As demand continues to rise, we can't just add more and bigger trucks. Something has to give," NYC DOT Commissioner Henry Gutman said.
WATCH: Mayor De Blasio, City Officials Discuss New Plan To Bring Package Deliveries In By Ferry --
According to the Department of Transportation, 45% of New Yorkers receive at least one home delivery a week as the pandemic increased the demand for online shopping.
"Let's get everything on the water as quickly as we can," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
City leaders propose to shift freight to the water. It's part of a broader plan they claim will be a more effective, efficient and environmentally friendly way to transport goods.
That includes incentivizing deliveries to be made at night and off-peak hours, shifting freight to the railroads and using smaller, more sustainable modes of transportation on the road, like cargo bikes, to take deliveries from a boat to your door.
It's a strategy UPS is already using in other countries.
While $38 million has been set aside in the city budget, the plan relies heavily on federal funding.
"What indication do you have that federal funding will in fact be available for this?" CBS2's Aundrea Cline-Thomas asked Gutman.
"All indications, from the senate majority leader, from our congressional delegation," he said.
Instead of waiting weeks for deliveries, now customers can get it in days or even hours, but the volume is increasing the urgency to find new ways to get packages safely to your door.
Today, nearly 90% of goods are moved around the city by trucks. It's unclear when or if federal funding will be available to implement the plan.
