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 UNI Apro Post & Logistics News

 

UNI Apro Post & Logistics

1 POSTAL NEWS No 01-2022

Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector

1. Oversized future USPS delivery truck on display at CES in Las Vegas. January 05, 2022.

2. Swiss Post expands its goods logistics. January 04, 2022.

3. CO2 emissions from mail transport automatically offset as of 2022. January 03, 2022.

 4. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor wildfire: Postal workers rally to resume delivery after Marshall fire. January 02, 2022.

5. Targeting addition of 20 thousand agents, Pos Indonesia provides courier service everyday open starting 2022. December 31, 2021.

1. Oversized future USPS delivery truck on display at CES in Las Vegas January 05, 2022

The postal truck is set to receive its first upgrade in about 30 years with the U.S. Postal Service showing off its new oversized vehicle of the future at CES in Las Vegas. The “next generation delivery vehicles” stand 9.5 feet tall, stretch 19.6 feet long and are 7 feet wide. The larger upgrade is aimed at what Todd Schimmel, acting senior director of Technology Acquisition and Program Management for USPS, said is the expected future direction for parcel delivery. “The added cargo capacity is specifically for our projections on where e-commerce is going and where packages are going so we can better serve our commercial customers, the Amazons of the world… and to also serve our end customers, which is your neighbor and my neighbor,” he saidSchimmel also said the added cargo capacity will make it easier for carriers. “We have a side door on this vehicle so they don’t have to work out of the back,” he said, adding that carriers can load through the back “then they work on the street on the street side of the vehicle.” As one would expect, the new model mail trucks feature a bevy of technology to ensure a driver’s mobile office is safe and allows them to implicate smart devices in their service. The vehicles include Bluetooth technology, collision avoidance, 360-degree cameras, backup sensors and cameras and self parking that puts on the parking brake anytime it senses a driver is not in the driver’s seat. “The carrier’s office is this vehicle, so we want to cater to them as much as we can,” Schimmel said. “We want to make sure they’re comfortable and they’re safe.” Four variants of the new mail trucks will begin to roll out to U.S. destinations at the end of 2023. There will be two internal combustion engine types and two battery electric vehicle options, one of which will be two-wheel drive and one with four-wheel drive capability. The USPS is conducting modelling of where the electric mail trucks perform best to figure out what markets will receive them. “Our BEV (battery electric vehicle) route now is 70 miles,” Schimmel said. “So we have to do a route analysis as well as environmental analysis.” Schimmel said the electric model tends to not perform as well in extreme cold and hot climates. Despite that, he said Las Vegas is on the list to receive some battery operated vehicles. “Vegas is on the list, but it’s not high on the list,” Schimmel said. “We have a ranking of where they can potentially go.”

Source : https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/conventions/ces/oversized-future-uspsdelivery-truck-on-display-at-ces-in-las-vegas

 

2. Swiss Post expands its goods logistics January 04, 2022

 Online trade is growing, with efficient supply chains becoming vital for people and especially companies in Switzerland. In order to secure transport flows and to integrate Switzerland more broadly to international goods trade, Swiss Post is making further investments in its logistics network. Swiss Post has acquired the transport company Stella Brandenberger Transporte AG, based in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. It has also stepped up its current activities in Baden-Württemberg, helping it secure capacity on transport routes that are important to Switzerland. On 1 January 2022, Swiss Post acquired Stella Brandenberger Transporte AG, based in Pratteln. This family business employs 77 people and specializes in the national transportation of overseas containers. The takeover enables Swiss Post to boost its resources in an economic area that is key to Switzerland, and reinforce its position as a trusted logistics partner for many SMEs in Switzerland. The company has also expanded in Baden-Württemberg, acquiring Hugger GmbH, based in Aldingen (Germany) as of 1 January 2022. Hugger GmbH is a forwarding company with 217 employees that specializes in goods transport by road. At the same time, Swiss Post has acquired the shares in Logistic Center Villingen GmbH (LCV), based in Villingen-Schwenningen (Germany), a company with 12 employees that specializes in storage services. Employment contracts for the staff affected to remain unchanged The corporate identity of the three companies will remain the same. There will be no changes for staff. They will remain on the payroll of their respective employers, and have been informed of the changes in ownership. By acquiring the companies Hugger and LCV, Swiss Post is bolstering its current subsidiary Bächle Logistics GmbH, based in VillingenSchwenningen. The operative business of both companies will be transferred to Bächle Logistics, which has been under Swiss Post’s ownership since 2018. The parties involved have agreed not to disclose details of the three acquisitions. End-to-end logistics solutions for all of Switzerland “The increases in the flows of goods we’re seeing, especially through online retail, are not focused on national borders, but on customers and production sites,” says Johannes Cramer, Head of Logistics Services at Swiss Post. “This is why we’ll continue to expand the range of logistics and customs clearance services, including abroad, that we offer our business customers. Acquiring Stella Brandenberger, LCV and Hugger will help us achieve the expansion we need, broaden our expertise and secure key resources such as storage options, vehicles and a skilled workforce. The pandemic has made it absolutely clear that a secure supply chain can only be guaranteed if you have sufficient resources,” explains Cramer. Through these acquisitions, Swiss Post will help ensure that its business customers in Switzerland can continue to receive their goods on time, and that their customers, in turn, don’t experience any delays. Swiss Post invests in its core business and ensures the provision of the universal service in Switzerland To ensure that Swiss Post can provide the universal service in Switzerland from its own resources in future, the company will depend on increased income in its core business, i.e. the secure, reliable transport of goods and information from A to B. To help it achieve this goal, the company is investing in its infrastructure, for instance, parcel sorting. Swiss Post is also making targeted acquisitions and business units where they complement its services or contribute new technologies and expertise to the company. In 2021, Swiss Post acquired the shares of four freight forwarders in order to expand its logistics network in international goods trade. On 1 April 2021, Swiss Post took over Ost-West Cargo GmbH, based in Stuttgart, enabling the company to increase its presence in southern Germany, and in particular to bolster its subsidiary Bächle Logistics. It then acquired the transport companies Iemoli SA, based in Balerna and Como (Italy), Otto Schmidt AG, based in Basel, and Intralog Hermes AG, based in Pratteln. As part of its growth strategy, Swiss Post will continue to make targeted investments in its core markets. By doing so, the company will not only ensure the provision of the public service from its own resources, it will also enable Switzerland to gain improved links to international goods flows.

Source : https://www.post.ch/en/about-us/media/press-releases/2022/swiss-post-expands-its-goods-logistics

3. CO2 emissions from mail transport automatically offset as of 2022

January 03, 2022 This now makes letter mail more climate friendly for private customers as well.

Starting immediately, Deutsche Post will be offsetting any unavoidable CO2 emissions due to mail transport with investments in internationally recognized and certified climate protection projects. • Effective immediately, Deutsche Post offsetting CO2 emissions for letter mail transport at no extra charge • Investments in certified climate protection projects worldwide • Move is part of the company's sustainability program Bonn - For the last ten years, DHL has transported all parcels for private customers with its climate-friendly "GoGreen" service. Effective immediately, Deutsche Post is now also offsetting all CO2 emissions generated by its mail transport operations, achieving a more sustainable mail service at no extra cost to customers. Up until now, the GoGreen option was subject to a charge and only available to business customers with a shipping volume of at least 50,000 items per year. This now makes letter mail more climate friendly for private customers as well. Starting immediately, Deutsche Post will be offsetting any unavoidable CO2 emissions due to mail transport with investments in internationally recognized and certified climate protection projects. For the roughly 6.5 billion letters handled by Deutsche Post's letter mail operations in 2020, this would translate into an offset of more than 300,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. For domestic advertising mail and press products, customers still have the option of ordering GoGreen as an additional service. Ole Nordhoff, Chief Marketing Officer at Deutsche Post: "Climate protection is a core focus issue for Deutsche Post. Already today we have, by far, the largest fleet of electric delivery vans, electric-powered bicycles and cargo bikes providing the industry's most climate-friendly mail and parcel delivery service. And for years, our parcel customers have responded very positively to the climate-friendly shipping we have provided for all private-customer parcels. Now we are introducing this to our mail operations as well and making our entire mail transport greener. This also helps our business customers make their mail correspondence with end customers greener." Effective immediately, business customers can use "GoGreen" as a sign of their own commitment to climate protection - by printing the logo on their envelopes, for example. This not only benefits the environment, but also communicates the company's commitment to climate protection to the mail recipients.

Since 2007, Deutsche Post and DHL have offered their GoGreen service as a way to offset - through certified climate protection projects - the CO2 emissions generated by their shipping operations. For the past ten years, every private-customer parcel shipped within Germany has automatically been shipped "GoGreen". This latest measure - to now automatically offset CO2 emissions for the transport of all letter mail items - is part of Deutsche Post DHL Group's ambitious sustainability program aimed at achieving zero-emission logistics by the year 2050. Already today, Deutsche Post DHL delivers mail and parcels carbon-free in more than 50% of its delivery districts, making it by far Germany's most climate-friendly logistics provider. In addition, the Group's Post & Parcel Germany division continues to expand its fleet of electric vehicles, to invest in the construction of carbon-neutral operations facilities, and to upgrade existing buildings. The division also plans to continuously increase the share of parcels shipped via greener transport modes such as rail and biogas-powered trucks. It also plans to expand its GoGreen product portfolio in 2022 with products that will allow customers to play an active role in CO2 avoidance in Germany.

Source : Deutsche Post DHL Group | Jan 03, 2022: CO2 emissions from mail transport automatically offset as of 2022 (dpdhl.com)

4. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor wildfire: Postal workers rally to resume delivery after Marshall fire January 2022.

Dozens of letter carriers from other cities converge in Louisville to get letters, bills and prescriptions out to Boulder County evacuees..

Usually quiet this time of week, the Louisville Post Office bustled back to life Sunday as letters, bills, prescriptions and more waited in makeshift mail boxes for their owners to come claim them. The post office, located along fire-ravaged McCaslin Boulevard, counts itself among the lucky buildings left standing after the Marshall fire, which reduced nearby homes and businesses to charred rubble as it swept through Louisville and Superior, becoming the most destructive fire on record in Colorado. As the sun rose over the post office parking lot, a hint of smoke still in the air, the office reopened to allow residents affected by the fires to pick up their mail. Mail isn’t necessarily the first thing people think about during a crisis, but for some who lost their homes, letters and packages sent from a loved one might be exactly the comfort they need. “That might be the first possession, first new possession in your hand,” United States Postal Service spokesman David Rupert said.

Rupert joined mail carriers from all across Colorado on Sunday who volunteered to help the post office pick back up where it left off on Thursday before it was evacuated. Deep inside the post office, carriers wasted no time on the workroom floor, sorting mail and parcels and trying to figure out which pieces still had a home and a mailbox. The post office, which has 26 mail carriers, is responsible for deliveries to about 13,000 homes and businesses. Mail belonging to families whose homes are no longer standing, for now, is being stashed in numbered slots in temporary holding cases made from sturdy cardboard. Fifteen of those cases line the workroom, each holding 70 slots. Some post office employees lost their homes. For others spared by the firestorm, the toll still takes a personal tone. Wes Maynard, a postal carrier in Louisville, has been on the job for seven years – four of them on his current route that winds through neighborhoods near the Louisville Recreation and Senior Center and the Louisville Police Department. He makes about 600 deliveries total on his route. The Marshall fire devoured 200 of the homes that have become a part of his daily life. “I know all the families and they have been incredibly kind to me,” Maynard said as he loaded a truck behind the post office with mail to bring to homes still intact. As they reel from so much loss, he hopes to offer back the same kind of compassion those families showed him as he made deliveries, day after day, during the uncertainty of the pandemic. His customers have become friends, he said. “There are kids that follow me around while I’m delivering the mail and talk to me,” said Maynard, who lives in Westminster. He reported to work Sunday morning hoping to ease the hardship of the families along his route. “I just want to do what I can for the people that have been so kind to me, and it seems like the least I can do is making sure that getting their mail – and especially the important things that come – is organized and is not an additional burden for them,” he said. Postmaster Robin Terneus, who also lives in Westminster, emphasized how tightly woven postal carriers are into their communities. “Many of my carriers are devastated and are doing anything they can do to get out here and help the people that they’ve gotten to know for so many years,” she said. “They’ve made friends out there if they’ve had a route for a while.” Throughout the day, she will work with her staff to assess the damage in their community and pinpoint the places where they can still deliver mail. “We’ll just have a better idea of what can be delivered, what can’t be and what needs to be held,” Terneus said. The post office will be open until 5 p.m. Sunday and will reopen 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day this week, Rupert said. As families find temporary housing and make accommodations to piece their lives back together, the post office will work with them to redirect their mail, he said. He noted how fortunate the post office is to have survived such devastation. Still, hints of the fire are scattered throughout the building, with ash and soot coating the lobby floors.

Volunteers worked to sweep it up on Sunday in between their other tasks after employees completed a “deep clean,” he said. Some of those volunteers – who came from places like Fort Morgan, Durango and Colorado Springs – have already faced the same sense of loss from wildfires that those they’re helping are. Rupert sees it as “a way of giving back” on a day they would typically take off. “It’s a Sunday, but that doesn’t mean anything to us,” Rupert said. “We know how important this is.

” Source : https://coloradosun.com/2022/01/02/marshall-fire-mail-delivery-louisville-postoffice

 

5. Targeting addition of 20 thousand agents, Pos Indonesia provides courier service everyday open starting 2022 December 31, 2021.

JAKARTA - PT Pos Indonesia (Persero) targets the number of agents and O-Rangers to triple in 2022 or reach 20,000 agents. Currently, the number of the company's O-Ranger is 9,300. Starting next year, PT Pos Indonesia will provide an everyday open courier service. O-ranger is a partner of Pos Indonesia whose job is to market Pos Indonesia products and carry out pick-up services in each area. The scope of O-Ranger sales includes marketing and sales of courier service products in the retail segment, namely Post Express and Special Express Posts. Director of Courier and Logistics Business of Pos Indonesia, Siti Choiriana said that starting January 1, 2022, her party will accelerate the number of O-Rangers. He said the addition of the O-Ranger was also in line with the addition of PT Pos Indonesia agents. That way, said Choiriana, next year the target can be realized. "The O-Ranger target has tripled, so later we hope to approach 20,000 next year. This is what we are targeting to ensure we can run fast," he said while giving the award to the best ORanger Mobile nationally, Friday, December 31. Furthermore, Choiriana explained that PT Pos Indonesia will also maximize courier services. Where, starting January 1, 2022, O-Ranger services will be carried out non-stop or continuously. This service improvement has also been conveyed by management to all ORanger teams. "We have also socialized what they have to do because we stated that the service from January 1, 2022 that our service will never die, like that. said closed. Because the closest are the agents. They also give the same commitment, "he said.

At the end of 2021, Pos Indonesia also gave awards to the best O-Ranger Mobile nationally. They are a team or network of Pos Indonesia officers whose role is to pick up and deliver postal packages or goods directly from business actors throughout Indonesia. "Overall, we give our awards to more than 100 of the best O-Ranger Mobile who won the highest turnover throughout 2021, as well as other top awards for O-Ranger Mobile coordinators who succeeded in achieving the highest targets throughout Indonesia," he said. Choiriana explained that the appreciation given by Pos Indonesia to the O-Rangers was a form of the company's commitment in realizing the mission of 'Act Effectively to Achieve the Best Performance'. The award given, continued Choiriana, is expected to be an additional motivation for other ORanger Mobile to be more enthusiastic and militant to achieve the best results in the future. "We want to increase the spirit of the O-Rangers by giving appreciation for their achievements and achievements in 2021, so that when opening the New Year of 2022, the ORangers have additional motivation to achieve even higher productivity in providing the best service," he said.

Source: https://voi.id/en/economy/119592/targeting-addition-of-20-thousand-agents-posindonesia-provides-courier-service-everyday-open-starting-2022

 

UNI Apro Post & Logistics

1 POSTAL NEWS No 02-2022

Formulated by UNI Apro Post and Logistics Sector

1. UPU welcomes new leadership team. January 05, 2022.

2. Udelv rolls out cab-less Transporter autonomous delivery vehicle. January 05, 2022.

3. Transport Workers Union boss Richard Olsen calls Sydney toll road projections ‘madness’. January 04, 2022.

 4. eDelivery project successfully completed. Continuation of the digital transformation of the Croatian Post. January 04, 2022.

5. bpost and BNP Paribas Fortis confirm new seven-year commercial partnership. January 03, 2022.

1. UPU Welcomes new leadership team January 05, 2022

The UPU’s incoming Director General, Masahiko Metoki, and Deputy Director General, Marjan Osvald, were honoured during an official welcome and handover ceremony today at the UPU’s headquarters in Berne, Switzerland.

The ceremony included the reading of the official UPU oath by the Director General and Deputy Director General, as well as the exchange of the key to the International Bureau – the UPU’s headquarters and seat of its international secretariat. Speaking during the handover ceremony, the Director General said, “Throughout my term, I will do everything possible to strengthen the ties that bind us closely together.” “Although symbolic, this key has tremendous significance. If we work in an effective and efficient manner, we can collectively unlock success for the entire postal industry,” said Mr Metoki.

Referring to the postal strategy guiding his term in office, the Director General said, “It sets out a vision of the Post as an essential engine for sustainable development and invites governments to do everything possible to reduce the gaps in postal development around the world … As Director General, I pledge that I will work in all sincerity with member countries to make this strategy successful.” The Deputy Director General added, “During my term in office, I encourage the responsible owners [of the Post] to define the role of the Post in their environment and to support its development. The Universal Postal Union will thus guide, coordinate and help members to enhance the quality and importance of postal services.” Isaac Gnamba-Yao, who represents Côte d’Ivoire as Chair of the UPU’s Council of Administration, also presided over the ceremony. Welcoming the new leadership team, Mr Gnamba-Yao said, “All the member states have witnessed your commitment to continue the work of reforming the postal industry and to rise to the challenges that it faces, with the inclusion and participation of all member countries.” Expressing his congratulations to the incoming team, former Director General Bishar A. Hussein said, “I wish to call on member countries and the International Bureau staff to support the two leaders and enable them to continue with their momentous task of transforming this organization to address the demands and the dynamics of the ever-changing postal market.” On completing his mandate as Director General, Mr Hussein added, “We were able to live up to the expectations of member countries, we were able to uphold their trust and deliver with dignity and respect.” Mr Clivaz said it had been “an honour” to serve the UPU over the past nine years. “I have used my competencies to serve the UPU and bring about reforms,” he said. He added that it would now be up to Mr Metoki and Mr Osvald to take up the challenge. “It is not an easy position, but I have no doubt in your ability to overcome the difficulties,” he said. Earlier in the day, Mr Metoki and Mr Osvald were welcomed by Mr Hussein and Mr Clivaz and the International Bureau’s senior management team upon their arrival to the headquarters. They also met with the media at a press breakfast to speak about their plans for the UPU over the next four years. Mr Metoki and Mr Osvald officially began their respective mandates on 1 January 2022. They were elected by member countries during the UPU’s 27th Universal Postal Congress in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in August 2021. Ahead of his election, Mr Metoki served as the Senior Vice President of International Affairs at Japan Post and represented Japan as Chair of the Postal Operations Council from 2012 until 2021. Mr Osvald previously served as Director of International Mail at Pošta Slovenije, but has also worked to coordinate developments across the sector through his involvement with PostEurop, the Postal Union for the Mediterranean and the International Post Corporation.

Source : UPU welcomes new leadership team

2. Udelv rolls out cab-less Transporter autonomous delivery vehicle January 05, 2022

https://youtu.be/jJdTWS3O0ck

Udelv, a Silicon Valley venture-backed company, has unveiled its first cab-less autonomous electric delivery vehicle for multi-stop delivery, the Transporter, which utilizes the Mobileye Drive self-driving system. The multi-stop electric delivery vehicle features a proprietary, self-contained, hot swappable modular cargo pod called the uPod. It can carry up to 2,000 lb of goods, and is said to be able to make up to 80 stops per cycle at highway speeds, cover ranges between 160 and 300 miles per run depending on the battery pack option, and be operated by Udelv’s mobile apps to schedule, deliver, track and retrieve packages. “This is a historic day for the transportation and logistics industries,” said Daniel Laury, Udelv CEO and co-founder. “The Transporter is transformative for two of the world’s largest industries: automotive and logistics. It was created to solve two great challenges of commercial fleets: the shortage of drivers and the electrification of fleets.” Udelv says its third-generation vehicle is the result of several years of experimentation, client testing and hardcore mechanical, electrical and software engineering. In 2018, Udelv made its debut in California with an autonomous delivery on public roads, and since then has completed over 20,000 deliveries for multiple merchants in California, Arizona and Texas. Udelv aims at having 50,000 units of the Transporter on public roads by 2028, with the first Transporters being commercially deployed in 2023. The uPod is connected to a proprietary cloud-based software with intelligent loading and unloading, as well as a function to return items, and can, the company states, deliver nearly anything from convenience goods, e-commerce packages and groceries to auto parts, electronics and medical supplies for B2B and B2C applications. It is driven by the Mobileye Drive self-driving system, incorporating the fifth generation of EyeQ, Mobileye’s System-on-Chip for automotive applications. To enable rapid deployment at scale, the Transporter will integrate Mobileye’s AV maps based on Road Experience Management (REM), a crowdsourced, continuously updated map of the world that digitizes what autonomous vehicles need to navigate. The vehicle also features Udelv’s 24/7 proprietary ultra-low latency camera-based teleoperation system for remote maneuvers and assistance and Udelv’s proprietary uECU (Electronic Control Unit) acting as the vehicle’s central compute unit to integrate and optimize all functions.

The transporter will be available with battery capacity between 90kWh and 160kWh giving a 160-300-mile range and a top speed of 70mph. The company says fast charging for 45 minutes can add up to 220 miles of range. Udelv states it has already garnered more than 1,000 reservations, including from USA-based Donlen and Europe-based Planzer and Ziegler Group. The company was also awarded a prestigious contract from the US Air Force for a pilot program at Edwards Air Force Base in California. “The Transporters will dramatically improve the efficiency and safety of last- and middlemile delivery services and make deliveries affordable for everyone and everything from electronics and auto parts to groceries and medical supplies,” concluded Laury.

Source : https://www.parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com/news/automation/udelvrolls-out-cab-less-transporter-autonomous-delivery-vehicle.html

3. Transport Workers Union boss Richard Olsen calls Sydney toll road projections ‘madness’ January 04, 2022

New projections suggest Sydney’s road tolls will more than double over the next 25 years as a union boss claims the current tolls are already “crippling” road users. The Transport Workers Union NSW say the doubling and tripling of road tolls over the next 2½ decades will be most strongly felt by truck drivers and other heavy vehicle users who already pay triple the tolls of other vehicle users on most roads. As per the TWU NSW projections for trucks, the NorthConnex toll, which this week increased to $25.33, will be $35 one-way by 2030 and almost $74 one-way in 25 years. For cars users, who now pay $8.36 a trip, this would blow out to $24 by 2048 and $49 by 2048. This is based on a 1 per cent quarterly increase until 2048 that exceeds the predicted inflation rate. TWU NSW boss Richard Olsen said it was “nothing short of complete madness”.

 

 

The state secretary called on the newly-appointed Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward to take action in 2022. “Under this government, increases on our toll roads have become just as much a part of Sydney’s New Year’s ritual as the fireworks on the Harbour Bridge,” Mr Olsen said.

“There’s nothing more urgent for the new Roads Minister than providing relief to ownerdrivers and transport operators who are being crippled by these massive toll road costs. “The numbers don’t lie – if the government doesn’t do something urgently, the cost of using these toll roads will triple within the next 25 years. “How are truck drivers and other small businesses using these roads supposed to afford those kinds of increases?” Ms Ward said the NSW government was committed to financially supporting those drivers who choose to use toll roads more often. “The NSW government is focused on reducing cost of living pressures on NSW households with more than 70 rebates and savings available, including the Toll Relief program and Small Business Fees and Charges Rebate scheme,” Ms Ward said. “Last financial year almost $70m was paid to more than 200,000 eligible drivers under the Toll Relief scheme which allows regular toll users to claim free rego or half-priced rego. “That’s in addition to other initiatives including the M5 South-West Cashback scheme and the Small Business Fees and Charges Rebate. This was recently increased from $1500 to $2000 to provide even more relief for regular toll users. “There are a range of factors that have not been considered by the TWU in comparing today’s prices to speculation across a 30 year period.” NSW Labor has previously vowed to make toll roads a hot button election issue, with NSW Labor leader Chris Minns this year calling for an end to new tolls on existing roads and deals that would keep toll increases in line with inflation. Tolls on nine roads increased on January 1. Tolls on the Cross City Tunnel, Eastern Distributor, Hills, M2, Lane Cove Tunnel, WestConnex M8, M5 East and M5 South West are adjusted quarterly, while the WestConnex M4 is increased annually.

Source : https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/transport-workers-union-boss-richard-olsencalls-sydney-toll-road-projections-madness-c-5179458

4. eDelivery project successfully completed. Continuation of the digital transformation of the Croatian Post January 04, 2022

 ZAGREB, 4 January 2022 - The eDelivery project, aimed at developing and implementing an electronic document delivery solution for individuals and legal entities, was successfully completed in late December. The project, which lasted two years, involved the Croatian Post, the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration and the IT company Sedam IT, which developed all the necessary software components. The project has created technical and procedural conditions for completely digital delivery of registered mail in accordance with the eIDAS Regulation of the European Union. The realization of this project continues and builds upon the existing cooperation between the Ministry of Justice and Public Administration and the Croatian Post.

The total value of the project is 310 thousand euros, and 75% of the amount was co-financed by grants from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Source : Hrvatska pošta - eDelivery project successfully completed (posta.hr)

5. bpost and BNP Paribas Fortis confirm new seven-year commercial partnership January 03, 2022

 BNP Paribas Fortis becomes 100% shareholder of bpost bank, and this with the agreement of the relevant regulators and competition authority. The change of shareholding does not change anything for bpost bank customers.

 In December 2021, the regulators (the National Bank of Belgium and the European Central Bank) gave the green light to a new partnership model between bpost and BNP Paribas Fortis. Today, the transaction, in which BNP Paribas Fortis acquires the 50% shares of bpost in bpost bank and therefore becomes 100% shareholder of bpost bank, has been finalised and the new agreement enters into force. • It’s also the start of a new seven-year exclusive commercial partnership between bpost and BNP Paribas Fortis, whereby bpost continues to provide financial services and products in the post office network. • In this new long-term partnership model, bpost has sold its 50% stake in bpost bank to BNP Paribas Fortis. The purchase price was calculated on the basis of the IFRS net asset value at the time of the transaction. • The new commercial partnership between bpost and BNP Paribas Fortis will run from 3 January 2022 to 31 December 2028. • For bpost bank customers, nothing changes: they will continue to receive excellent services in the familiar setting of the post office. • Both BNP Paribas Fortis and bpost fulfil an important social role in Belgian society. They both also focus on long-term relationships, being close to customers and offering tailormade solutions.

 

 

Long-term partnership

 Long-term partnership The original partnership for the provision of financial services in a joint venture was concluded in 1995, under the name ‘Bank van De Post’, today bpost bank. bpost bank is nowan established player in the Belgian banking landscape. The terms of the former partnership expire on 3 January 2022. Today, a new partnership model will start up between bpost and BNP Paribas Fortis in which BNP Paribas Fortis is 100% shareholder of bpost bank. This new model perpetuates the long-term commercial relationship between BNP Paribas Fortis and bpost. The customers of bpost bank will still be able to count on excellent service in the familiar setting of the post office. The sale transaction has no impact on the employment conditions of the staff of bpost bank and bpost.

Source : https://www.ipc.be/news-portal/general-news/2022/01/04/09/12/bpost-and-bnp-