September 17, 2010, 12:43 pm
The Wall Street Journal Congestion Fight Runs Into Night
By Andrew Grossman
New York City wants to unclog streets by getting trucks that deliver food, clothes and sneakers to make more drop-offs to businesses at night. Twenty-five businesses and eight trucking companies started doing many of their deliveries after 7 p.m. and before 6 a.m. in October as part of a federally funded pilot program that offers incentive payments for participants and trucks equipped with Global Positioning Systems so their speed could be tracked.
The truckers saw benefits like faster-moving trucks, fewer parking tickets and lower fuel usage. All of the participants have continued doing overnight deliveries since the pilot program ended in January, according to Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. The city on Thursday will roll out a push to get more companies to deliver at night. If the effort succeeds, it could mean fewer trucks idling in traffic lanes outside businesses and circling blocks looking for parking spaces during rush hour.
