25-03-2021
The Pacte Industrial of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region organised an open session of the Mobility Commission on March 25th on the challenges of Urban Freight Distribution (DUM), an essential element for the sustainable future of the logistics and mobility in cities. Urban freight distribution accounts for about 30% of urban emissions. That is why rethinking the transport and delivery of goods in terms of sustainability must be a priority in the heyday of ecommerce.
Juan José Casado, Chairman of the Mobility Commission of the Pacte Industrial and head of Institutional Policy of the RMB of the UGT of Catalonia, was in charge of welcoming attendees and recalled that “sustainable mobility is a collective right that promotes other citizen rights such as equality”.
The challenges of the DUM
The event continued with the “Urban distribution of goods, between old problems and new challenges” presentation by Sergi Saurí, Director of CENIT (Transport Innovation Centre) . Saurí outlined the steps to be taken to respond to the four essential challenges of the DUM: digitalisation, the collaborative economy, regulation and the energy framework.
Next, Sergi Martínez-Abarca, Head of the Transport Management Service of the ATM (Metropolitan Transport Authority); Carles Conill, Director of Sustainable Mobility Services of the AMB (Barcelona Metropolitan Area), and Marta Losada, Manager of the Clúster Catalonia Logistics, have delved into these challenges by presenting different actions that have been carried out by public administrations and the private sector to set up a new, sustainable DUM.
The speakers emphasised that the distribution times coincide with commuter travel times in urban areas. Therefore, it is essential to integrate goods into land use and mobility plans in cities. In addition, public-private cooperation and work with municipal technicians will be the key to implementing new technologies efficiently and successfully in the urban distribution of goods in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region.
Finally, Alba Gubert, Project Technician of the Pacte Industrial, introduced a round of questions and comments by attendees, and concluded the session by recalling the latest publications of the association on mobility: the Paper 1 and Dossier 8 of the Pacte Industrial.