Originally Posted by FBinNY

This is a case of rulebook vs. practical reality.

In places like NYC, if every rule were followed to the letter, things would grind to a halt. It's common practice for unions to hold "rule book slowdowns" for this very reason. I have no idea how this case will play out, but if the job of making deliveries (any and all deliveries) gets harder, the end result will be the imposition of surcharges for pick up and delivery in Manhattan or throughout NYC.

As it is, most freight companies charge upwards of $60.00 for deliveries within the city limits over what the identical shipment delivered just over the border would be. This has been true for decades and they chalk it to added costs and lower productivity because of traffic, tolls, and fines levied.

My commercial neighbor is a moving company and they routinely get cited 3-4 times on a single residential move. They can usually negotiate these down to a single fine but the reality is that the client pays because they have to budget fines into the quotes.

In any case, the practical need to obstruct traffic to make deliveries is unavoidable in NYC, and I don't believe that we need to or should make bicycles sacred cows immune for the same disruptions we all live with. If the courts rule against UPS, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the City Council solves the issue by changing the applicable law.