NEW YORK — Congestion pricing was supposed to help ease traffic in New York City, but with the program was paused indefinitelynight deliveries could offer a solution.
CBS New York political reporter Marcia Kramer spoke with the founder and CEO of a company who says the idea is a win for everyone involved.
Parking issues prompt the Lower Manhattan coffee shop to switch to overnight delivery
At 10 p.m., Birch Coffee Shop in Lower Manhattan closed, but a delivery person was carrying goods inside. Store owner Jeremy Lyman had to take a huge leap of faith: it would be safe to trust the delivery company with the code for his front door.
“Used to be [trust] something big? Was that an obstacle?” Kramer asked.
“It was a hurdle at first, but I think with any change there’s always going to be some hesitation,” Lyman said.
This was done to avoid daytime parking problems at his store on Spruce Street. With cars and trucks parked on one side illegally double parked on the opposite sidewalk, motorists can barely pass by. The problem is multiplied by the need for multiple suppliers with multiple trucks that couldn’t find space on the sidewalk.
“We were dealing with seven suppliers, right, and so these seven suppliers came in at different times… There was always something wrong, there was always a problem,” Lyman said.
But then he met Dane Atkinson, who came to him with a common sense proposition.
“It’s one of those seemingly obvious things: Why fight traffic?” said Atkinson.
The Odeko founder says that overnight deliveries are better from an economic point of view
Atkinson started a company, Odeko, that would consolidate all deliveries and then bring them to the store at night when parking on Spruce Street is not a problem. The selling point was twofold: convenience and cost.
“From an economic point of view, it’s way better… Because of the speed and the efficiency, and that’s just the obvious math,” he said.
But there are also other benefits to it overnight deliveries.
“The number of tickets you get at night is negligible…The number of incidents – crashes, fender benders – is fractional because you’re not fighting a million other cars,” Atkinson said. “Gas is cheaper overall. We spend $2.1 million a year on gas… If we did it all in one day, it would be 30 to 40 percent more because we’re just idling.”
With the streets of New York City filled with traffic jams, including trucks double- and triple-parking, the idea of overnight deliveries for the coffee industry took off, especially since Odeko’s warehouse in Moonachie, New Jersey has everything in stock that a coffee supplier could possibly need.
The company now has the keys to many front doors and delivers overnight to 1,300 locations in New York City. Seven hundred of them are in Manhattan, including 550 under 60th Street in the Central Business District, which would face congestion charges.
Should more NYC businesses switch to overnight deliveries?
The city Department of Transportation hopes the Odeko model can be replicated in other sectors — one that will help the DOT reach its goal of 62,000 after-hours truck deliveries by 2040.
“So what do you think this will do if we can get more trucks off the streets during the day? How will that impact traffic congestion in New York City?” Kramer asked.
“Huge. And you just see it driving around, right? There’s a line of cars on the street and then there’s a line of trucks, and you’re left with one lane left to operate,” Atkinson said.
Lyman says overnight deliveries work for him for many reasons. He gets everything at once, including the pastries, and the drivers also stock the shelves so his baristas don’t have to.
“When they come in in the morning, they know exactly what they have. They’re going to use that for the next few days,” Lyman said.
Would he ever go back to day births?
“Once the curtain goes up and you see what’s on the other side, it’s hard to go back. It’s hard to go back because it’s so much more convenient,” Lyman said.
But while city transportation officials would like all trucks to run after hours, this may not work for everyone. Watch CBS2 News Friday at 5 p.m. for Marcia Kramer’s report on why some companies say this just isn’t for them.
