KNOWLEDGE GAPS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE
MOVEMENT OF FREIGHT AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO
ADDRESS THEM
Regional vs local
There are an estimated 7,500 operating businesses in the city, the vast majority of
them recognised as small to medium operations i.e. employing 50 or less staff. This
is underpinned by a great diversity of sectors and types of operations. This diversity
is both the local economy’s strength and weakness – the weakness being that it is
seen as not having the critical mass to attract ‘big investment’; the strength being
that smaller businesses are more likely to collaborate as they rely heavily on
mutually supporting networks. Efficient and sustainable movement of goods, which
are produced and consumed by the local businesses, is central to a thriving local
economy. This movement of freight is a complex activity, which extends well beyond
municipal boundaries. Regional, interstate and even international factors are at play.
The Loddon Campaspe Integrated Transport Strategy recognises this complexity
and recommends that freight be tackled from a regional perspective. A thorough
understanding of the forces that are at play in Greater Bendigo, the regional centre,
is critical to that process.
Freight sector supply/demand chain imperatives
A broad review of industry trends can help identify what is generally required to
support a more efficient movement of freight and increase the sector’s productivity.
However, a detailed study of businesses that operate in Greater Bendigo will identify
specific facilities, services and infrastructure, such as for example: a refrigerated
storage facility; a bio-safe truck wash; 100% wireless communication coverage;
alternative fuel stations etc.; that are needed to support local industry. This
knowledge of the sector’s imperatives will create opportunities for new investment
and will make the industry more sustainable into the future.
Efficiency inhibitors
There is some understanding of issues along the road network that inhibit the
movement of freight. However, evidence relating to exact locations and nature of the
‘hot-spots’ remains anecdotal only and requires a thorough analysis that can help
with prioritising infrastructure improvements.
Aggregation and disaggregation of freight
Research shows that Bendigo is the origin and destination for much of freight
movement observed in the city. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that Bendigo
provides for aggregation and disaggregation of a considerable volume of freight that
is destined for places outside of the municipality. There appears to be a number of
freight companies that perform this task but we have limited evidence attesting to
the scale, type or location of this activity. It appears to be dispersed and
uncoordinated thus, very likely, is lacking in efficiency and is potentially having
amenity impacts. If this is in fact the case then opportunities for undertaking this
task in a more efficient and productive way should be explored. For example,
through grouping these activities in strategic locations that: provide access to key
freight routes; minimise impact on residential amenity; and which can accommodate
facilities and services required to attract and support relevant business operations
(i.e. freight hubs; fatigue management centres etc.).
Commodities that are being moved
While there is some knowledge about the volume of heavy vehicle movements
across Greater Bendigo; there is no information about what goods they carry.
Knowing what is carried into and out of Greater Bendigo; and along which routes it
is carried, will assist with planning for infrastructure maintenance and
improvements. It will also assist with identifying private sector investment
opportunities along the freight route network; and those associated with a
particular commodity or industry sector.
Corridor protection
Understanding the freight route network is critical to ensuring we can effectively
plan and acquire land for freight precincts and corridor protection. Failure to do so
can result in preferred routes being ‘built out’ by encroaching development, suboptimal routes being used, and expensive amenity features (e.g. noise attenuation
barriers) requiring construction. Failure to protect freight precincts and corridors
has the potential to significantly increase the cost of the development and ongoing
operation of transport infrastructure; as well as seriously impact on the amenity and
liveability of the city.
Use of undeclared routes
There is anecdotal evidence to attest to this fact but the volumes of heavy vehicles
that choose other than the designated freight routes remain unknown. The traffic
modelling work that VicRoads are to conduct in the coming months will include
vehicle counts and observational surveys. However, this work will not have the
capacity to determine why certain routes are preferred over others. This
information is pertinent to developing a functional, true to life, road use hierarchy
for freight, as recommended by the Loddon Campaspe Integrated Transport
Strategy.
Unnecessary freight trips
It appears that there are numerous freight vehicle trips that contribute to pollution
and loss of safety and which may not be required if we are able to address the
reason why they are taken in the first place. For example, initial scoping has
indicated that there are Bendigo based companies that move their refrigerated food
products to Melbourne’s refrigerated storage facilities; only to be brought back
again to undertake further processing/supply the Greater Bendigo market. This is
due to the fact that Bendigo no longer has its own refrigerated storage facility. A
study of this issue will assist businesses in becoming more efficient and sustainable
into the future; and will potentially reduce the volume of heavy vehicle movements.
Under-utilised truck loading space
It is a well known, be it poorly understood and rarely addressed, fact that many
freight vehicles on our roads operate well under their full load capacity. The freight
sector world-wide is plagued by productivity loss associated with trips being taken
by empty trucks. If we are able to determine the routes they take and which
companies they belong to then we can work with these companies to improve their
efficiency through the use of new technologies and by encouraging collaboration.
Several local businesses, as well as a large ‘national’ operator, expressed an interest
in capitalising on this knowledge.
‘Informal’ trailer exchanges and heavy vehicle parking
Anecdotal evidence indicates that this does occur in Greater Bendigo, for example in
Marong, but details are unknown. If we are able to pinpoint the reasons for and
exact locations of this activity then we can work towards addressing this issue by,
for example, setting up legal trailer exchange facilities in strategic locations.
Critical times for delivery and pickup
We do not know what these are and whether there are concentrations of businesses
in certain locations across the city that have to make pickups and deliveries at
certain times of day/week/year (seasonal). This information is critical in
considering the use of traffic and road safety management strategies, such as time
restrictions, or for a more efficient use of loading zones.
Freight vehicles in activity centres
The issue of loading zone ‘shortage’ and accessibility has been flagged by various
businesses, particularly in the City Centre. Understanding the volume and type of
freight vehicles delivering to specific locations is pertinent to addressing this issue.
For example, are there particular pockets in the CBD that are accessed by heavy rigid
trucks? This data can be cross-referenced against locations of loading zones or help
identify a lack there of. Efficient and safe delivery of freight to the city’s activity
centres is critical to fostering a thriving economic activity and liveability.
Technological advances
Recent years have seen unprecedented technological advances, which will have an
impact on the movement of freight. Ranging from 3-d printing of goods; to mobilebased freight brokerage solutions i.e. ‘Uber-like’ systems; to autonomous vehicles;
the likely impact of these technologies is still unknown but has the potential to
significantly alter the scale and nature of the freight task. Gaining a better
understanding of these new technologies, allows us to plan more effectively for the
impacts and opportunities associated with their uptake on the freight sector and the
city’s amenity.
The ‘circular economy’
Initial research indicates that the volume of freight associated with the movement of
waste is significantly underestimated. For example, many heavy vehicle movements
in Bendigo’s activity centres are actually associated with the removal of waste
product from the retailers, rather than delivering or dispatching goods. Gaining a
better understanding of the actual scale, type, origin and destination of ‘waste
freight’ will enable the City to address this issue more effectively. In addition, it will
provide an insight into opportunities associated with waste reuse, recycling as well
as minimisation.
Fatigue management and other labour related issues
The quality of life of people employed in the freight industry, particularly the driver;
as well as a skilled driver shortage; have been at the forefront of national labour and
safety reforms. This has had a significant influence on freight logistics and the
industry’s productivity. Local government has an important role to play in
responding to this issue, by for example, supplying land for truck rest areas or
‘fatigue management centres’, as they are now known; or by seeking opportunities
to attract and retain skilled workforce that meets the needs of the freight and
logistics sector. With many of the local freight businesses being a single truck, ‘mum
and dad’ type of operations, gaining a good understanding of this issue, at a local
level, is all the more important for a city like Greater Bendigo.
Transport scenario modeling
The Bendigo Integrated Transport Model (BITM), currently being developed by
VicRoads, constitutes a significant piece of strategic work, which will have direct
bearing on road infrastructure investment in Greater Bendigo in the years to come.
Like any strategic planning tool, its accuracy is dependent on the quality of data it
utilises. An independent study of the local freight sector will provide ‘fine grain’
data, collected directly from the source i.e. the freight generating and operating
businesses, that can potentially contribute to the BITM; reinforce its validity; and
test its assumptions, if needs be.