Belgian postal company Bpost will introduce 28 new double-decker trailers into its fleet by the end of 2024, the company announced on Thursday. The company aims to increase efficiency and reduce emissions.
The new double-decker trailers will be used to transport parcels between the company’s five major sorting centres and hundreds of regional distribution centres across Belgium.
The company first introduced the double-stacked trailers in 2020 as part of efforts to reduce its environmental footprint. By 2024, the company wants to have 38 double-decker trailers in operation.
These trailers are much different from ordinary trailers used by couriers across the country. The new trailers featured movable sliding floors and some will also be equipped with solar panels to generate power to operate the moving components. The sliding floors will allow for easier loading of parcels into both the upper and lower parts of the trailers.
Credit: Bpost
In total, the company has ordered eight new trailers with a movable floor, two of which are equipped with solar panels and six with a fixed floor (of which one will be fitted with solar panels).
The capacity of the extra tall trailers allows Bpost to ship greater amounts of mail and parcels at one time. The double trailers can hold 44 trolleys on the top deck and 25 on the lower deck.
These new trailers can hold 60% more per journey than a traditional trailer, meaning that the company require fewer vehicles. It hopes this will lead to a 40% reduction in carbon emissions. In 20 years it wants to have 550 double-decker trailers.
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“We are investing heavily as an e-commerce and logistics service provider in sustainable delivery of parcels and to both distribution and transport,” said Jos Donvil, CEO of Bpost Belgium. “We have already committed to slash our carbon emissions by 55% by 2030. Our transition to a greener fleet is key to achieving that target.”
Each day, Bpost covers hundreds of thousands of kilometres to deliver mail across Belgium. In total, its fleet comprises 650 trucks and 330 trailers. The trailers will help reduce the need to utilise its whole fleet.
Belgium’s postal service has already invested significantly in green alternatives. At the time of publication, the company utilises 6,630 “green” vehicles, including 5,200 bikes, 1,153 e-vans, 226 electric three-wheel scooters, and 50 LNG vehicles. By the end of this year, 50% of its fleet will be sustainable, the company claims.
