EQUITY OF OUT-OF-HOME PARCEL DELIVERY SERVICES. CASE STUDY: POZNAŃ AGGLOMERATION
EQUITY OF OUT-OF-HOME PARCEL DELIVERY SERVICES. CASE STUDY: POZNAŃ AGGLOMERATION

Summary/Abstract: Courier, express and parcel (CEP) services, similarly to postal ones, have started to be perceived as a basic necessity. Therefore, they have become of interest from an equity perspective. This article quantitatively assesses the out-of-home (OOH) delivery network in the Poznań agglomeration, with a focus on address points. The applied method allowed for more accurate analyses of spatial equity compared to the methods used in the previous studies. The results show that the Polish market for OOH services in 2024 was highly developed and competitive in the area studied. Nevertheless, spatial inequity was still observed, especially between the densely populated core of the agglomeration and the peripheral areas with lower population density. The analysis identified three groups of people with different access to services. In terms of accessibility, 76.8% of the agglomerations' inhabitants had access to at least two OOH networks, one of which was operated by InPost and was within walking distance. On the other hand, 3.8% of inhabitants had no access to OOH points, even if cycling was an option. This may suggest that intervention in the OOH services market is needed to improve situation of these people. On the other hand, the analysis shows that the situation is even worse in the traditional, subsidized postal services. The limitations of the methodology used prevented its successful application to assess other dimensions of equity. Further research is needed to obtain a complete picture that will take into consideration different stakeholder groups.

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