In June 2022, the urban district authorities of Greater Paris, Rouen/Normandy and Le Havre, alongside the City of Paris, HAROPA PORT and the French Waterways Authority (VNF) issued a call for declarations of interest related to the promotion of river transport as an alternative to road haulage and the fostering of innovative solutions for last-kilometre decarbonised delivery. Based on the results of the call, in the spring of 2023 HAROPA PORT sent out a call for project proposals for its regional offices in Paris and Rouen. ULS (URBAN LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS), a company, has today been selected following both calls for proposals. ULS already offers an urban river delivery service in Lyon and Strasbourg.
In Paris: river delivery extended by electric-assist bike plus trailer.
For HAROPA PORT Paris regional office, ULS will be setting up a logistics base in Charenton (Val-de-Marne). This will provide service to central Paris via the river and Javel Bas and Gros Caillou ports, these being located respectively in the city’s 15th and 17th arrondissements. Last-kilometre delivery will be made using electric-assist bikes equipped with trailers, which will also cover the Charenton city district directly from the logistics base. The proposal meets the criteria set out in the tender documentation, and specifically those for logistics chain performance and effective flow management. ULS is expecting to achieve breakeven between 2030 and 2032 with this project, working with a number of customers, GEODIS notably among them. This major urban delivery provider is already a ULS customer in Strasbourg and Lyon.
In Rouen, a logistics base to serve the city centre.
Along the same lines as in Paris, the project proposed by ULS involves implementing a river/cycle-based urban logistics solution working out of a logistics facility located upstream of Rouen (Seine-Maritime) on land belonging to HAROPA PORT. Going via the river, this will connect to the quay upstream of Guillaume le Conquérant bridge (the subject of a call for project proposals) in the heart of the city, with last-kilometre delivery by electric-assist bike plus trailer. Back from the quayside, hardstand will be made available to ULS for installation of facilities for personnel and a storage area. Traffic will be developed through partnerships with actors in the distribution, package delivery and e-commerce sectors.
Both projects in Paris and Rouen are responses to a single goal: to use river freight transport as a major opportunity for addressing the climate and environmental challenge with an alternative to road haulage.
Stéphane Raison, HAROPA PORT’s CEO declared: “We were struck by the fact that URBAN LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS had worked in detail on a proposal for insertion of the project into the landscape and on the novel dimension of decarbonised urban river logistics and last-kilometre delivery needing to find its proper place in Seine Axis towns and localities. Its submission, shaped by the local economic fabric, encourages us to continue and step up our work with our partners, proving yet again just how relevant it is. HAROPA PORT is once again demonstrating that is absolutely central to decarbonisation that fosters the development of the economy and local regions”.
Thomas Castan, ULS founding president, stated: “It is an honour and a source of immense satisfaction for the teams at URBAN LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS that following the call for “Seine Axis urban river logistics” project proposals made by Paris and Rouen we have been selected to implement our shared river/cycle-based sustainable urban logistics solution on the Seine. We have already begun to work with HAROPA PORT’s highly committed teams and the Greater Paris and Rouen/Normandy local government authorities as well as Paris and Charenton town halls. These new operations, which are of major importance for the development of ULS, are part of our deployment across France and Europe.”
