Jogging Couriers to Help Deliveries During London 2012

22 / 06 / 2012

A delivery firm is deploying jogging couriers to help overcome congestion it expects in London during the Olympics.

Additional visitors, increased security and Games lanes for Olympic athletes and VIPs are expected to impact on deliveries for firms during the Games.

JogPost will help dispatch business post for couriers including DHL through its team of runners. DHL handles some 50,000 deliveries in London each day.

Thejoggers will also join driving couriers for the final mile of deliveries in areas that are inaccessible because of the Olympic route network, or congestion which DHL expects to increase by 30 per cent on London’ s core routes.

There will be in the region of 100 to 110 runners who will jog an average of six miles (10km) a day, with the maximum distance being 10 miles(16km).

The joggers are "congestion busters" so can use other means such as busses, the Tube and hire bikes, to get around.

PhilCouchman, CEO of DHL Express UK and Ireland,said: “Keeping London moving is a priority for us; our customers expect their critical deliveries to arrive on time regardless of what’s happening in London. By using innovative delivery methods we are able to sustain our high service levels during what will be a busy time for businesses, and also reduce our carbon footprint by sending fewer vehicles into the city.”

 “Using joggers to carry out deliveries has the potential to be a viable and environmentally-positive solution well beyond the Olympics,” said JJ Harding, founder of JogPost .