NYC Cuts Delivery Times by 66% Using Ferries and Bikes

New York City is rediscovering what made it a shipping powerhouse centuries ago: its waterways.

Marcus Hoed's company DutchX has been running zero-emission deliveries in New York since 2013, using electric vans and cargo bikes to move packages across the city. But last December, he found a game-changing shortcut that's turning heads in the logistics world.

Instead of driving a van 75 minutes from Brooklyn to Midtown Manhattan through traffic-clogged bridges and tunnels, DutchX now loads packages onto a ferry. The trip takes just 25 minutes across the East River, where cargo bikes pick up the goods at Pier 70 and zip through Manhattan streets.

The benefits go beyond speed. DutchX avoids parking nightmares, skips congestion pricing fees, and eliminates van emissions from idling in traffic. It's a win that makes you wonder why more companies aren't doing this.

They soon will be. This trial is part of New York City's Blue Highways program, an ambitious plan to move freight back onto the water and off the roads where 90% of city deliveries currently happen. The city is retrofitting piers and shipping depots across all five boroughs to handle water-based deliveries.

The Brooklyn Marine Terminal is being transformed into an all-electric marine port. By 2027, the program plans to add electric-powered boats to the mix, making the entire system emissions-free from dock to doorstep.

The Ripple Effect

This isn't just about faster deliveries. Cities worldwide are drowning in delivery trucks as online shopping explodes, creating traffic jams and air pollution that harm everyone.

DutchX now operates 272 bikes across five city hubs, delivering everything from perfumes to furniture for customers demanding zero-emission shipping. Major companies selling electronics and home goods are taking notice and signing up.

The program proves that solutions to modern problems sometimes come from looking backward. New York's waterfront once bustled with trade before those piers became luxury apartments and parks. Now they're getting a second life as clean transit hubs that serve the city instead of clogging it.

Other congested cities sitting on rivers, lakes, or coastlines are watching closely. If it works in New York, it can work anywhere.

Water routes that carried commerce for centuries are becoming highways again, only cleaner and smarter this time.