curbFlow – a digital curb space management company – and Washington, DC’s Department of Transportation (DDOT) recently collaborated on a three-month pilot to better manage curb space in the city by creating a digital queuing system for delivery or service parking.
The pilot program researched and analyzed demand at nine locations where commercial delivery pickup-dropoff activities often result in double parking. Starting on Aug. 1, parking was removed at these locations for the 12 weeks to create commercial loading zones where study participants used a free app to coordinate curb time. The parking spaces – “curbFlows” – were available to all commercial operators, including couriers and on-demand delivery drivers using personal vehicles. Rideshare drivers and taxis were not eligible in the pilot.
DDOT is still evaluating the full results, but so far have observed that double parking went down 64%; commercial drivers made space reservations more than 15,000 times; and over 6,350 drivers from more than 900 companies registered to use the service. curbFlow also reports that 350 registered drivers used the program daily and 85% of surveyed drivers rated curbFlow as a 9 or 10 on likely to recommend.
“Major operators like UPS and on-demand food platform DoorDash have opted into curbFlow’s platform to realize better efficiencies and service, provide a better user experience for merchants and customers, and create a safer environment for their drivers,” curbFlow CEO, Ali Vahabzadeh, said. “Taking back the curb by combining new technology with old-fashioned cooperation is the first step to achieving safer streets, more productive urban cores, and more equitable use of city space.”
