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23.10.2019
Having assessed the results of tests carried out during the summer period, when postmen were delivering postal items by motor scooters in different parts of the country, Latvijas Pasts has made a decision to purchase electric motor scooters by the next spring and summer season in order to deliver items in certain areas. The procurement specification for the vehicles will incorporate postmen’s suggestions for ensuring more comfortable deliveries, such as the need for the scooters with a larger and more convenient load compartment, allowing them to load as many postal items as possible. Initially, it is planned to purchase 10 scooters, increasing their number later as needed.
Latvijas Pasts started testing motor scooters in June 2019 to find out whether and how this convenient and compact vehicle can speed up the delivery of postal items in certain areas and improve the convenience of postmen. The scooters purchased for the initial tests were tested by postmen in different parts of Latvia throughout the summer.
The assessment of the test results shows that using scooters is advantageous to Latvijas Pasts both financially and from the point of view of the delivery organisation. If scooters can be used for deliveries five months a year on average – there is practical evidence that the actual time could be at least six months – they are cheaper to operate in certain areas, especially in detached house areas, on an annual basis than cars. Moreover, deliveries by scooters in these areas are also more efficient as they can be ensured without having to get in and out of the vehicle, as is the case with cars.
Feedback from Latvijas Pasts employees who have tried scooters as delivery vehicles is generally positive, highlighting the fact that they are “quiet and environmentally friendly” and that “dogs can’t hear them and don’t bark” in addition to being a convenient tool for deliveries. These suggestions will be an essential contribution to drafting the procurement specifications for scooters: for example, the postmen have noted the need for a more spacious and comfortable cargo compartment for loading items.
Opting for electric motor scooters involves both environmentally friendly vehicle alternatives and practical considerations – postmen will not have to go to a fuel station, which is often situated far from the post office in Latvian regions, thus increasing the time and financial resources required for deliveries.
Initially, it is planned to purchase 10 electric motor scooters by March 2020, so that the first deliveries of postal items could start when spring arrives, depending on the weather. If necessary, the fleet of these vehicles at Latvijas Pasts will be gradually expanded.
Scooters are economical, environmentally friendly, safe, compact and comfortable means of transport that can quicker cover the daily walking and cycling routes of postmen and manoeuvre in areas where this is not possible for a postman who uses a car for delivery. In addition, the introduction of fast and motorised vehicles for item delivery can ensure not only more efficient delivery of items, but also a significant reduction in the physical load of postmen.
A wide range of vehicles are being tested and used for item delivery around the world that correspond to the geographical characteristics of the specific area, the amount of items, the habits of the population and the intensity of the traffic flow.
In recent years Latvijas Pasts has been actively implementing various projects to enhance the postal services and quality and improve the postal item delivery processes.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with around 4,000 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Gundega Vārpa | Head of External Communications
Phone: +371 67608505
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv; gundega.varpa@pasts.lv
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