Geneva in 2061
In 2061, deliveries in Geneva are quiet and clean. Goods arrive at hubs on the edge of the centre, often by rail, and travel the last kilometre by cargo bike or silent electric van, outside peak hours. Parcels wait in shared lockers close to home instead of crossing the city several times. Small, urgent deliveries fly by silent drones, in limited numbers and on defined routes. Above all, fewer goods need to travel far: much of what Genevans eat and use is produced in the region.
The market also offered many other products from the farm: honey, grilled chicken, sausages, cheese, etc. The smells were intense and varied.Grooters, Book 1, Part 16 “2061”
Geneva today
About 480,000 professional vehicle movements cross the canton every week
That is around 5 to 10% of road traffic. By weight, Swiss lorries carry 55% of goods, foreign lorries 21%, light vehicles 10% and trains 14%. Transport by rail grew by 32% between 2015 and 2021, against 6% for Swiss lorries, and professionals are showing growing interest in cargo bikes.
Source: Cantonal Transport Office, presentation on professional transport at the États généraux des mobilités (September 2023)
- Under its 2019–2023 action plan, Geneva set up cargo-bike “nano-hubs”, a network of shared parcel lockers and a road–rail transfer platform for construction materials (same source).
- The canton reports two main obstacles: the lack of public space and the high price of land in the centre for logistics hubs, and noise rules and lorry hours that make it hard to move deliveries outside peak times (same source).
Where it is already done
- Swiss Post and the drone maker Matternet have flown laboratory samples between hospitals in Lugano, Geneva and Zurich. In Zurich, drones fly autonomously along a 2.5 km route from the University Hospital to a university campus, over forests where possible, reaching their destination twice as fast as a courier on the road.
- Albi (France) set itself the goal in 2014 of feeding its population with food produced within 60 km. It pre-empted 8 hectares of former market-garden land and installed organic market gardeners there. The 2020 deadline proved unrealistic: a city of Albi’s size would need about 18,000 hectares to feed itself, and the official in charge admitted he had chosen the date because it was the end of his term. Yet the approach shows how a city can start producing more of its own food.
How far along
Done somewhere A city or country already does it. Geneva only needs to adapt it.
The path to 2061
Milestones proposed for discussion.
- 2027Geneva sets a target for the share of last-kilometre deliveries made by cargo bike or electric vehicle, and creates its first rail-connected logistics hub.
- 2031Shared parcel lockers are within a short walk of every home, and deliveries in the city centre are made only by cargo bike and silent electric van.
- 2041A network of rail-connected hubs supplies the city, and silent drones carry urgent medical deliveries on defined routes.
- 2051Much of what Geneva eats and uses is produced within the region, so far fewer goods travel long distances.
- 2061As Verity sees, the only vehicles in town are silent electric delivery vans.
What moves it
Human needs it serves
Open questions
- How many drones can a city accept before they become a new source of noise and visual disturbance, and who decides where they may fly?
- Where can Geneva find space for logistics hubs when land in the centre is so scarce and expensive?
- Before making deliveries more efficient: which goods really need to be delivered, and from how far?
Sources
- Cantonal Transport Office: Transport professionnel de personnes, de marchandises et de services, États généraux des mobilités (September 2023, in French)
- Swiss Post transports laboratory samples by drone (June 2022, in French)
- Banque des Territoires: Albi installe des maraîchers sur des friches urbaines (October 2016, in French)
- Reporterre: L’autosuffisance alimentaire à Albi ? Dommage, c’est du pipeau (2018, in French)