Companies provide comprehensive services, which include the collection of the parcel from the sender, settlement of transport formalities, delivery of cargo to the logistic base, customs formalities and delivery to the recipient. Because these are shipments of relatively small dimensions and weight, their number is large. Employees of courier companies, who collect them from the sender and deliver them to the recipients, they use different vehicles. It must be emphasized, that this is their workshop, they spend all the time working in the car. To perform the tasks entrusted to them well, must go to the customer, get out of the cabin several dozen times a day, open the cargo compartment door, take out the parcel and close the luggage space. Vehicles, they move, first of all, they should be practical to use, feedback, easy for the courier to drive in city traffic and safe. Until recently, vans with a body type of vans were used. These cars have a normal passenger car cabin connected with a large cargo space. However, a few years ago, when a great demand for cars with a carrying capacity of approx 500 kg, the largest European concerns have designed cars especially for this group of demanding customers, in which the cabin and the cargo hold form one whole.
When deciding on the choice of vehicles, each courier company has its own preferences, however, professionals take into account the following parameters of the car:
• pojemność ładunkową,
• łatwość dostępu do przewożonego towaru,
• load weight, comfort in the cabin,
• niskie koszty eksploatacji,
• małe wymagania obsługowe,
• well-developed service and repair network,
• degree of protection of the load against amateurs of someone else's property.
Lots of serious companies, organizing car fleets, it also points to the brand of the vehicle as a testament to prestige, solidity and good economic position of the owner.
The courier's vehicle should meet the criterion of quickly reaching the customer's premises. Crowded streets in big cities and traffic restrictions eliminate cars with greater payload. Small vans can run anywhere, they take up little space and are easy to park. Although they are small, they often do hard work, carrying large amounts of cargo. The courier car should take approx 600 kg of cargo and the driver. The volume of the luggage compartment is approx 2,5 m3. In the hold, which for safety reasons cannot have side and rear glazing, there is a flat floor with a strong carpeting, resistant to abrasion. The driver's cab must be as comfortable as possible, comparable with the cabin of a passenger car, with a very good ventilation system equipped with the option to cut off the air supply from the outside and an effective system of heating the interior of the vehicle, ensuring optimal temperature inside during the winter. Important from the point of view of work physiology is a moderate noise level. The driver's seat should have a full spectrum of adjustments, enabling people of various height and body weight to take their place. Location of switches on a simple and legible instrument panel, Control levers and pedals must be flawless, they should all conform to the correct ergonomics. Various storage compartments for document storage are very desirable, waybills and invoices.
Because courier cars move frequently and cover considerable distances throughout the year, statistically, they are more prone to collisions or road accidents. To ensure proper driver safety and minimize the likelihood of injury in a collision, cars must be equipped with airbags, seat belt pretensioners, side reinforcements of the door and crumple zones. And the power steering and the ABS system should belong to the canon of equipment for such cars. If the cars run distances above 30 thousand kilometers, they must be equipped with a compression-ignition engine.
Operating costs can be reduced, when the so-called. full technical inspections are performed every 30 thousands of kilometers or once a year, and the replacement of engine oil and filters takes place every 15 thousand kilometers. When a car fleet is used, moving around the country, what is important is the maintenance and repair network and its distribution throughout the country. All the reasons support the choice of such a brand, which has the most densely placed authorized services.
Until recently, angular chamber vans were used for courier transport. Currently, thanks to the great popularity of these cars, very successful vans, e.g.. Ford Fiesta Courier, Opel Corsa Combo and modern cars for transport purposes like: Citroen Berlingo, Peugeot Partner or Renault Kangoo. From the very beginning, they gain an advantage over cars that are simply adaptations of passenger cars.