Night Delivery: Institutional Restraints

Abstract

Presented is a review and analysis of night delivery as a tool for managing vehicle traffic in high density central business districts of urban areas. Data were collected in Washington, D.C., Denver, Colorado, Atlanta, Georgia, and San Francisco, California. The analysis revealed that although night delivery is practiced by few businesses, and has been suggested by several researchers as a means of traffic management, the institutional restraint to its implementation is diverse, and is particularly strong among elected officials, the police, and labor unions. Much of this resistance is due to the vested interest of those groups, rather than to the potential value of night delivery. Its unknown effect on the re‐election of public officials, extra enforcement requirements, adherence to a strong tradition of day‐time delivery among the unions, and the negative perception of all night work among union leadership, are the key institutional restraints. However, a universally transferable night delivery model is not practical in U.S. cities because of the strong and diverse delivery traditions and idiosyncrasies among the institutions of labor, local government, and business.