DC Velocity - August 2010

The whole ball of wax

Questions of public attitude aside, there’s an umbrella issue, we think, of how to plan and solve problems in the complete universe of the logistics of moving people. What’s going on with buses? How should long-distance and local buses be configured? What’s the mix of styles and capacities for use in big cities, small towns, and long-distance travel? Are there dedicated-lane alternatives that make sense for all constituencies? What are the green impacts of decisions and alternatives?

Similarly, what about trains? What kinds make sense in what environments? How can they be paid for? How should they network/integrate? What are the real target markets? How can they be greener in addition to simply hauling more bodies at one time?

And on the road, again, what are the infrastructure needs specific to people movement? Can one solution make all the problems go away? If not, how can we mix and match alternatives with an eye toward adjusting the mix as conditions change?

Within vehicles, how can we—in market-attractive ways—design more purpose-built automobiles for commuting, local shopping, long-distance travel, group movement (e.g., car pools), and transport to multimodal terminals? How much greener can we get? How can we accelerate alternative fuel development?

One emerging concept is car-sharing. Zipcar is a nationwide (plus London and Vancouver) membership organization, a pay-per-use alternative to auto ownership and upkeep. Others include I-Go in Chicago, PhillyCarShare in Philadelphia, and City CarShare in Northern California.

What about trucks? How long for hybrid and alternative fuel versions to leave the realm of noble experiment and become mainstream choices? How serious will we get—and how soon—about these options for heavy-duty over-the-road carriage? Can we afford another round of emission regulation that drives down fuel efficiency and drives up fuel consumption at a time of oil price volatility?

And along with these questions, is anyone thinking about—independent of funding mechanisms—the importance of a nationally integrated system of carriage for both goods and people, operating on a master-planned and maintained physical infrastructure, to domestic economic performance and environmental health?

And for our profession?

Whether the debate takes place at the national or local level, we are persuaded that any discussion of people logistics could benefit mightily from the energy and creativity of the

professional logistics and supply chain community—and their professional associations. This community has been a critical part of re-ordering how we handle and move—and plan for—products and materials to the point at which we are world leaders in the field.

It seems that we ought to be seeing that we have common cause with the professionals specializing in people logistics, and that we ought to invite them into our big tent. Imagine the power and potential of adding our talents and insights to theirs (and theirs to ours).

Maybe the time has come to work together on options and solutions in moving people, integrating the resulting initiatives with freight movement programs and practices whenever their interests or venues coincide.

Art van Bodegraven, practice leader at S4 Consulting, may be reached at (614) 336-0346 or avan@columbus.rr.com. You can read his blog at http://blogs.dcvelocity.com/ the_art_of_art/. Kenneth B. Ackerman, president of The Ackerman Company, can be reached at (614) 488-3165 or ken@warehousing-forum.com.