>>979223No, I was thinking more heavy last mile, focus on heavy.
Small stuff like that fist link can be moved by bike, but many pallet transports are in the 500lb to 1,000lb range and small/medium trucks move more then one in range of 7,000lb to 20,000lb.
True, many could be broken down in new formats, but the the dramatic increase in number of trips to transport makes things more complicated then many people realize and such things are fairly physically demanding and relatively slow, not that I need it fast like most impatient spoiled people.
I have worked a flooring store and grocery store, both take in larger heavy pallets then resell them to individuals. But getting those things to the store in such volume is what concerns me. It is lots of middle back-end stuff people don't see or think about, but is vital if you want a new house or food in your grand society.
You are trying to replace these middle ground things, as they are too localized to justify train tracks as trains aren't flexible enough to meet such changing demands, yet large enough that you are pushing past the upper limits of what a bike can do in a reliable and repetitive fashion.
That second link, seems more in line with this issues, but there are still a number of other cases that need addressing. UPS, FedEx and such can atomize their loads, typically to manageable 45lb boxes. But what about ordering a refrigerator or stove?
Construction sites are a big one, but if the job is big enough a small temporary train might be setup to deal with the heavy loads during the main job but that still would cut out the individual home builder/buy as that job is too small for trains, but too big for bikes.
There are likely more as each market has its own needs, the answer doesn't have to be perfect, but it needs to get it done well enough we don't radically change even more parts of our society as there are limits to what people would call reasonable change.
