Toll delivers for APY Lands

A collaboration between the Mai Wiru Regional Stores Council and Toll Express has led to the logistics specialist freighting fresh food to a far-flung Indigenous community in South Australia's outback.

A Toll Express road train triple is making a weekly 3000km trip from Adelaide to the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in the state's far north-west to deliver the healthy food, which is sourced from an Adelaide farmer's market.

The trip takes two drivers four days to complete.

Toll Express General Manager, Larry O'Regan, said the company's expertise is instrumental in meeting the challenge.

"Toll Express is known for transporting time- and temperature-sensitive freight for a range of industries – including food and retail – between major cities," he said.

"But we also have the expertise and capability to deliver to customers in hard-to-reach locations like the APY Lands.

"Our experience delivering to remote communities in the Northern Territory and Ayres Rock Resort served us well for this project.

"We are proud to have developed a solution with the Mai Wiru team that has not only saved almost $1 million in logistics costs but has reduced delivery times by one-and-a-half days, giving the people of the APY Lands access to fresher food.

"We are getting great feedback from local store owners about our drivers – these operators were chosen specifically to provide this service, and have each been granted permits from the community leaders to access the APY Lands."