On Saturday the 23rd of March, the City of Mechelen hosted the second edition of the Knal! Energiefestival, a free annual festival aimed at promoting sustainability.
Visitors had the opportunity to attend engaging lectures, recycling workshops and an info market full of sustainable solutions covering topics such as sustainable renovations, composting, energy sharing and shared mobility. Our sustainable mobility stand served as the perfect location for conversations about parcel boxes, shared mobility and Hoppinpunten.
Among those who visited our stand, many were already familiar with and frequently used the parcel boxes, citing their convenience/flexibility and contribution to reduced traffic the city as primary reasons. Most preferred picking up their parcels on foot, often combining it with their daily errands like grocery shopping or commuting to work or school.
However, one visitor shared her experience, highlighting a need for user-friendly interfaces:
"I've only used the parcel boxes once, and my kids had to assist me since I struggle with technology."
While the parcel boxes were well known to the visitors, they were less familiar with the concept of Hoppinpunten. Although some had heard of it, many didn’t know what a Hoppinpunt exactly was. They do frequently use shared mobility and already combine different modes of transport for one journey.
Respondents suggested that offering more information about shared mobility and how to use them would encourage them to use the services more. The implementation of the Hoppinpunt could help with providing better information.
Overall, there was interest among attendees in the integration of Hoppinpunten with parcel lockers. They also saw opportunities to provide other functionalities at the Hoppinpunten:
“It would be convenient if I could pick up my reserved library books from the parcel locker at the Hoppinpunt.”
Source: City of Mechelen