Off-Hour Deliveries in Manhattan, New York City

Abstract

This paper discusses the responses of participants in an off-hour delivery (OHD) pilot test to a postparticipation opinion survey. The pilot test was part of a project that investigated the use of financial incentives to receivers as a method to encourage OHD. The participants in the pilot test included eight carriers and 25 receivers; 12 used staffed OHD while the other 13 used unassisted OHD. In addition to the survey responses, information obtained from in-depth interviews with six of the participants provides insight into the operational benefits and potential difficulties of implementing OHD. Analysis of the responses indicates that carriers, receivers, and delivery drivers have a generally very favorable impression of their participation in OHD and shows that providing a financial incentive to receivers to encourage OHD is beneficial. Carriers saw reductions in costs, drivers experienced improved delivery conditions, and receivers saw substantial operational improvements such as being able to make better use of their staff as a result of the increased reliability of OHD. The potential of unassisted OHD is evidenced by the fact that most participants who used unassisted OHD during the pilot test continue to perform OHD without the financial incentive that was provided during the pilot test.