Optimising a route requires a deep understanding of the terrain the route is on. Knowing the experience of driving the routes, what makes them feel convenient and smooth, and what doesn’t, is critical to designing a route that is both efficient and enjoyable for your drivers.
Australia has a unique geography for all legs of the delivery journey. From being an island that requires shipping or air freight to ports, to long distances on land that require long haul trucking or rail, all the way down to the last mile also having its own requirements, Australia is a challenging geography.
Specifically for last-mile delivery optimisation, here’s what needs to be taken into account:
Geographic and topographical challenges for the last mile in Australia
The first area to consider is the topography of Australia. With capital cities and metropolitan areas being quite distant from each other, even the city-to-city variance is significant.
Urban sprawl and density variations
Australian cities like Sydney and Melbourne have extensive suburban sprawl with varying density zones, requiring different vehicle types for efficient coverage. Inner-city areas demand smaller, more maneuverable vehicles while outer suburbs may require larger capacity vehicles for longer routes.
Coastal geography
Many major Australian cities are coastal with harbors, rivers, and waterways that create natural barriers requiring specific routing strategies. Bridge crossings and tunnel restrictions can significantly impact delivery planning.
Heat and weather extremes
Australia's intense heat, particularly in summer, affects both vehicle performance and driver safety. EVs face reduced range in extreme temperatures, while cargo bikes and walking deliveries become impractical during heat waves or severe weather events.
Routing considerations:
- Diversify your fleet to include multi modal vehicles to assign the most efficient vehicle type to the delivery
- Design territories in consideration of natural barriers such as rivers
Regulatory and infrastructure specific requirements
State-by-state transport regulations
Different states have varying regulations for commercial vehicles, weight restrictions, and operating hours. Recent changes in NSW to how gig workers are classified and a campaign by the Transport Workers Union (TWU) was a major topic of discussion at a lunch hosted by Adiona for last-mile delivery industry leaders.
Loading zone and parking restrictions
Australian CBDs typically have strict loading zone time limits (often 15-30 minutes) with heavy penalties, forcing fleet owners to optimise stop duration and vehicle assignment. Parking can be complicated and frustrating if drivers need to park repeatedly in a short distance or even multiple times on the same street.
Height and weight restrictions
Many Australian city centers have low bridges and weight restrictions on certain roads, particularly affecting larger delivery vehicles and requiring careful route planning.
Routing considerations:
- Based on feedback from drivers around parking optimisations, Adiona introduced Radius Routing, grouping deliveries that can be made from one parking location
- Matching the obstacles along a route with the vehicle type is critical to avoid costly accidents
Operational considerations
Driver shortage and retention
The ongoing driver shortage in Australia is a huge industry topic of discussion. Having routes that are smoother to drive, and even introducing EVs that are physically less demanding to operate can be effective retention mechanisms. StarTrack Courier discussed driver satisfaction in terms of more efficient routes giving drivers the option to finish faster and pick up extra deliveries and shifts in a day.
Right-hand traffic patterns
Australia's left-hand driving creates specific routing challenges where right turns across traffic are more time-consuming and dangerous, making left-turn routing optimisation crucial.
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Multi-modal transport considerations
EV charging infrastructure
Australia's EV charging network is still developing, creating route planning challenges for electric delivery fleets, particularly in outer suburban areas. However EVs offer worthwhile benefits. Due to how quiet they are, EVs can operate during hours that may have noise restrictions, for example in residential areas, making an extra shift or longer delivery windows possible.
Cargo bike regulations
Each state has different regulations regarding e-cargo bikes, including speed limits, licensing requirements, and where they can operate.
Pedestrian delivery zones
Many Australian CBDs have pedestrian-only zones during certain hours, making walking deliveries or cargo bikes the only viable option for certain time windows.
Delivering to businesses
Loading dock scheduling
Australian businesses often have strict loading dock booking systems, particularly in industrial areas, requiring precise timing coordination that affects route optimisation. Accurate delivery ETAs are essential not just for customer satisfaction, but for delivery in-full on time (DIFOT) metrics too.
Business hours concentration
Australian business hours tend to be more concentrated (typically 9-5) compared to some other countries, creating delivery time compression that affects vehicle utilisation. Within these hours, it’s not uncommon for customers to give their delivery partners even stricter windows within which deliveries must be made.
Industrial estate access
Many Australian industrial areas have security restrictions, weight limits, and specific vehicle requirements that affect delivery planning.
Construction and development
Australian cities are undergoing large-scale transformation. Brisbane is preparing for the 2030 Olympics, Sydney CBD is being pedestrianised, and multiple cities are building metros, train lines, and more infrastructure projects. This level of construction frequently impacts access routes, requiring dynamic routing.
Last-mile delivery route optimisation is region dependent
Partnering with a route optimisation partner that understands the unique challenges of the regions in which you operate is essential for true optimisation. Adiona delivers up to 10% more optimised routes than other solutions in the market for last-mile delivery in Australia.
See it for yourself and optimise a real route in our sandbox environment.