Quebec on the move | Parcels that make thumbs up

(Sept-Îles) The transport of small parcels has been a problem for businesses on the North Shore for a long time. The Côte-Nord Biofood Table found a solution by taking inspiration from carpooling.

The mission accepted by The Press was very simple: collect a package the size of a bag of groceries in Montreal and deliver it the next day to a contractor in Sept-Îles. There was plenty of room left in the trunk of the car, and since we were making the trip, why not take the opportunity to help out by carrying some extra luggage?

Systematizing this kind of boost is precisely Colinor’s objective. “On the Côte-Nord, we are all travellers,” says Marc Normand, director of the Côte-Nord Biofood Table (TBCN), the organization behind the project. “There are a lot of people on the move, so we thought: since there are already vehicles on the road, why not put a package in them? »

Like Amigo Express

Colinor works like a carpooling service like Amigo Express: its platform connects motorists with companies that have small and medium-sized parcels to travel. The driver indicates his point of departure and his destination, his dates and times of travel, and interested shippers can get in touch with him.

There are of course transport companies that deliver on the North Shore. Colinor presents itself as an alternative or a complement for companies, especially smaller ones. Indeed, transporting a pallet of materials or products is rarely a problem in the region. “As soon as we have small parcels, the transport costs are quite high”, points out, however, Marc Normand.

These costs can make all the difference for an entrepreneur located in a remote region.

Local solution

The idea of ​​setting up a service allowing parcels to “hitchhiking” emerged a few years ago during a forum entitled North Shore in solutions mode, organized by the region’s business support centre. TBCN was given the mandate to develop it, which it was able to do by taking advantage of financial assistance of $188,000 over four years from a program of the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec for innovations in the bio-food sector.

Martin Demassieux, co-owner of La Compagnie microbrewery, has closely followed the development of Colinor and has great hopes in this collaborative transportation project. He believes that its flexibility makes it “complementary” or even advantageous compared to bus transport, used by companies until now, but which follows a set schedule and route. It will also allow parcels to be sent from and to municipalities or villages not served by public transit.

The territory of the Côte-Nord is vast, but its agglomerations are not very extensive, which constitutes an advantage in the eyes of Martin Demassieux.

According to him, this could encourage many drivers to provide this kind of service and add a few minutes to their already long driving hours.

It is a question of “service”, because it is not expected at present that people who take charge of a parcel receive compensation. The fees charged by Colinor will only be used to maintain the platform. “It’s an act of solidarity for our businesses,” says Marc Normand. The operation of the platform will be based on trust between shipper and carrier.

Colinor may just be the starting point for something else, according to Marc Normand. “The platform will allow us to study transport flows on the North Shore, he says, and perhaps to identify other solutions that could be complementary to this proposal. »