Wiener Linien, the public transport provider in the Austrian capital, Vienna, is looking into a new use case for its services: to employ passengers to move parcels from one stop to another. The background to the idea is the growing volume of parcel deliveries (the project also involves Austrian Post). The idea is simple: passengers take a parcel from a parcel delivery station as they enter public transport and hand it on to another station as they exit.
Wiener Linien is working with Frauenhofer Austria to elaborate the details of a pilot scheme in the frame of a research project. In the summer of 2023, they launched a survey among public transport passengers to explore their readiness to take parcels on their trips. The survey includes passengers moving inside and outside of Vienna and asks for information such as the size limit of the parcel, possible remuneration for the service and the time of the day most suitable for transporting parcels for public transport passengers.
In parallel, Wiener Linien is developing parcel delivery stations and an app to help it to manage the service. The next step is to define which tram lines are feasible for the delivery idea. Tests are planned to start in 2024.
As well as Austrian Post, the research project also involves partners in the other federal states of Austria so that parcel delivery using public transport in rural areas can also be investigated.
Article published first at ORF.at on 16 August 2023.
Sources
Details
- Publication date
- 29 August 2023
- Topic
- Policy and research
- Country
- Austria