The last mile problem – and why semi-trucks have no place on our streets

Trucks are vital to the economy and help keep our country running, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all freight movement in the United States in 2022. But there are numerous problems with our trucking industry, with the trucks themselves, and how they interact with our cities.

In many places, large semi-trucks drive directly to businesses to drop off their cargo, or have to navigate through dense, compact urban areas. These trucks are naturally incompatible with these environments, yet oftentimes there aren’t many restrictions on these trucks themselves.

Moving away from semi-trucks, especially in our cities, involves making numerous changes to how we transport our goods. A key factor in this is what’s known as the last mile problem, and semis can’t be the solution.

What is the last mile problem?

The last mile problem is exactly what it sounds like – how deliveries are made during the “last mile,” or the final stretch from a cargo facility to an end business or consumer. The last mile is the most expensive part of the transportation of freight and makes up more than half of all the costs of shipping.

Because the end destination of many deliveries is often to a business, its location plays a key factor in how trucks will get there and, crucially, what kinds of trucks should get there. But throughout much of America, our roads are designed to fit our vehicles, instead of designing our vehicles to fit our roads. What this means is that many roads throughout the country are designed in such a way that they can be dangerous for non-drivers, and must be exceedingly large to accommodate massive semi-trucks that might come down them.

Take Portland, Oregon for instance. In certain districts of the city, intersection design “must consider the largest truck type, which is typically a WB-67,” according to their official guidelines. “With a 53 foot-long trailer, a WB-67 requires enough maneuvering room to complete a right turn without encroaching into the travel lanes of opposing traffic, and enough turning area to avoid mounting curbs or sidewalk.”

As such, in order to accommodate a trailer longer than 50 feet (not including the length of the truck itself), roads in Portland have to be wide enough so as to avoid dangerous accidents. The city itself even remarks that “there are no standard solutions for resolving truck conflicts with other modes. Each situation needs to be evaluated separately on a case-by-case basis.” They are admitting there is no universal guidance, and as such, there will constantly be issues due to the size of these vehicles.

Minneapolis design guidance highlights another issue with American street design – design and control vehicles. According to the city, the design vehicle is “the least maneuverable vehicle expected to regularly use the intersection.” Some examples of design vehicles the city lists are cargo vans, moving trucks, and, of course…interstate semi trailers.

The control vehicle, on the other hand, is “an infrequent but necessary user of the street and informs what vehicular operations need to be accommodated somehow in the design of the street. Fire trucks, for example, are often considered control vehicles, and must always be accommodated regardless of the type of street. Street design itself is often influenced by the fire department, according to the city. Not Just Bikes has a great video on why the size of fire trucks negatively influences our road design and causes numerous issues, and is an extension of the issue raised here about semi-trucks.

The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) advises cities to “design for the most vulnerable street user rather than the largest possible vehicle,” suggesting that larger vehicles “must not dominate the safety or comfort of a site for the majority of daily users.” They recommend using smaller vehicles as the design vehicle, such as the DL-23 (22.6 feet long) or the SU-30 (30 feet long).

These smaller design vehicles would fundamentally change how our intersections and streets are designed, moving them to a more human scale and allowing a reclamation of our cities from vehicles.

What’s the issue with semis?

It should go without saying that these large trucks are dangerous, and indeed, data supports this. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), trucks generally weigh 20 to 30 times more than regular passenger cars, and are taller with greater ground clearance, which allows for smaller cars to become trapped beneath these larger trucks.

In 2022, nearly 5,000 people were killed in crashes involving large trucks, more than 50% greater than in 2009. 96% of the deaths in crashes between a large truck and passenger car were occupants of the passenger car. Of all motor vehicle crash deaths in 2022, 11% involved a large truck – and nearly 75% of these crashes involved tractor-trailers.

Furthermore, just under half of all of the deaths involving large trucks occurred on major roads other than interstates or freeways – places such large trucks should generally not be. 

Large trucks are also more destructive to the roads, leading to increased costs in maintenance and repair. A road test done by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) in the late 1950s found that generally, large trucks were about 10,000 times more damaging to pavement than an average passenger car.

Recent studies have disproved this, and the impact of trucks isn’t as extreme. However, trucks still cause more pavement damage than passenger cars by about 285 to 343 times, which is still an extreme disparity. The damage done depends on factors like the condition of the road or exact weight of the truck, but what this shows is that semi-trucks damage our roads at an exponentially greater rate than regular cars, especially when they are present on roads they should not be.

To further highlight the issue, there are very few federal regulations around the size of these vehicles. The few that exist are strictly in favor of these semi-trucks. There are no federal height or length limits for the majority of semi-trucks, and federal law actually prevents the states from banning semi-trucks in any way or imposing overall length limits on them.

Of course, there are numerous other issues caused by these trucks that haven’t been touched upon here – air pollution, noise pollution, urban sprawl, and more. 

How other trucks can step in

Clearly, the huge size of these semi-trucks are causing numerous issues for the physical as well as economic wellbeing of our cities and people. Simply reducing the size of our vehicles can lead to less strain on our roads and cities, increased maneuverability, and a transition to denser urban areas.

This is where the box truck comes in. Box trucks are smaller than semi-trucks and are often used in more local transportation of goods. They offer numerous advantages over semi-trucks – they’re smaller, get better gas mileage and fuel efficiency, are more maneuverable and compact, and are far superior in urban areas. They also have lower fuel, maintenance, insurance, and operational costs.

Though obviously smaller than semis, box trucks can still hold quite a bit and are efficient at transportation. This man was even able to transform a box truck into a mobile home, complete with two floors, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. There’s more room in there than you might think.

Box trucks are far superior to semi-trucks in urban or suburban environments, where semi-trucks really have no place being. Semis are better suited for longer distance trips where they can transport more freight in one go, but even then, our American trucks are at a disadvantage.

Many American trucks use the “conventional” style, featuring the elongated front portion of the tractor, and sometimes featuring a sleeper cabin where drivers can sleep. Due to the aforementioned laws that do not strictly regulate the dimensions of these vehicles, these have become extremely popular in the US since the 1980s, and can be more comfortable for drivers.

Compare this with what’s more popular in Europe – the cab-over. Cab-overs have flat fronts and offer numerous advantages over the conventional style tractor. They offer drivers increased visibility due to the position of the engine, have smaller turn radii, and are far more maneuverable in tighter locations. When a large truck has to come into an urban environment, it’s much better if it’s a cab-over.

Numerous cities in Europe have placed extensive restrictions on the kinds of trucks that can make deliveries. Since 2018, the city of Brussels in Belgium has banned trucks weighing more than 7.5 tons from the city center. They remark that the “small winding streets” are simply “not made for heavy freight traffic,” noting that this restriction will improve safety, mobility, and provide relief from small streets that are “suffering” due to heavy trucks.

Amsterdam in the Netherlands similarly places restrictions on heavier vehicles. They impose a maximum weight limit of 30 tons and 10 meters (about 30 feet), and only approve vehicles over 30 tons in specific cases where the city must approve the truck’s route in advance. Amsterdam cautions drivers that this might impact their work, and drivers “may have to opt for different routes or transport your load in lighter vehicles and separate journeys.”

A case study of Japan

Although Japan is known for its extensive public transit and walkability, like many places in the world, it still relies on trucks for most of its freight transportation. In fact, more than 90% of Japan’s domestic freight is transported by truck – a greater proportion than that in the US.

Despite this fact, there are numerous differences in Japan’s trucking industry when compared with the United States. For starters, most trucks are just smaller, designed to fit in the narrow streets of Japan’s urban centers, and semi-truck tractor trailer configurations are uncommon.

Many Japanese trucks are class 6, with lower weights, smaller wheels, and boxes sitting closer to the ground that can be opened not only from the rear but from the side. Opening the box from the side is practical as many deliveries in Japan are made right on the street, which is made possible since Japan has generally made street parking illegal since 1957.

Street parking makes things much more difficult for delivery drivers. A study of deliveries in Seattle found that delivery drivers generally spent over an hour a day looking for parking, accounting for about 28% of their total trip times. This time is not spent being productive, and it also contributes to traffic, congestion, and pollution. 

Also unlike America, Japan places stricter regulations on their trucks. On general roads, like those in most urban and suburban environments, trucks can be no longer than 12 meters (about 40 feet), no more than 3.8 meters tall (about 12.5 feet), and cannot exceed 20 tonnes in weight. 

On expressways, trucks can be longer, but can only go up to 18 meters (59 feet) with a maximum weight of 36 tonnes. Further, the government routinely stops and inspects vehicles, forcing cargo to be split up if it exceeds length or weight limits. 

Other alternatives to trucks

Freight can be transported by much more than just trucks across land. Logistics company DHL has been experimenting with cargo bikes in Germany and the Netherlands, already having replaced numerous inner-city routes that were once done by van with bike. Cargo bikes can take alternative routes that avoid traffic and their total ownership costs are less than half that of a van. They also save over sixteen tons of carbon dioxide per year by replacing up to two standard delivery vehicles.

They’re not slower, either. A study has shown that electric cargo bikes can deliver 60% faster than vans in city centers with a 90% reduction in cargo emissions, helping to alleviate the last mile problem.

Switching away from trucks and vans naturally leads to more walkable, bikeable cities. The reduction in cars means less congestion for drivers as well as more efficient trucking and transport for those that remain. Infrastructure like automatically raising bollards can be used to restrict car access that can be lowered to allow for deliveries, saving time for trucks that would otherwise be stuck in traffic.

And no, restricting cars is not bad for business. A French study has shown that pedestrianization has positive impacts on business, while an Australian study has proven converting parking spaces to bike paths resulted in an increase in sales for local businesses. Another study in Portland suggests that pedestrians and cyclists “consumed just as much, if not more, than motorists on each visit, and their visits were more frequent.”

The long-distance savior

These delivery methods are primarily for more local freight transport. For longer distances, freight rail is the most fuel efficient way to move freight over land. Trains are much, much more efficient at moving product than trucks are over long distances. One train can carry one ton of freight almost 500 miles with a single gallon of fuel, while the average semi-truck only gets about 6.5 miles per gallon.

Trains can remove hundreds of trucks from our expressways, and they’re far better for the environment as well. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) notes that “moving freight by rail instead of truck lowers GHG (greenhouse gasses) emissions by up to 75%, on average.” According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), cars contribute 58.5% of transportation-related GHG emissions, and trucks contribute 23.4%. Freight trains only contribute 1.8%. 

Semi-trucks are far too inefficient to continue as they are in America. Do they have their place? Sure – but improvements, like the readoption of the cab-over engine, would make them better. They should stick to designated truck routes only, and leave local deliveries to smaller trucks or alternative methods of freight transport to solve the last mile problem. 

The expansion of our freight rail network would also help to improve our transport efficiency over long distances, saving us from long-term economic and environmental costs. It’s long past time that our semi-trucks stay out of our cities.