Here are some ideas that when all applied together will lead to a much more dangerous but also more profitable cargo system promoting RP and incentivizing hiring bodyguards, promoting vehicle combat, and setting up crews to run the cutthroat logistics business.
Anyone can get a cargo license but there is no conflict or competition between cargo drivers.
Remove on-demand cargo runs
First, we should remove the ability for cargo drivers to go to a pickup location and just ask for a gig. Instead, the cargo should be available on intervals and should be given on first-come, first-serve basis.
On random events, high value cargo such as gems or sensitive electronics can appear and offer much higher payouts than regular runs and are available at certain times and in limited quantities, which creates urgency and competition between organizations to secure them.
Trucker radio signal
Let's make a constant radio signal where a "dispatcher" of the cargo organizations will announce when there is a new run available. Much like real life trucker radio chatter, we can introduce random chatter (GPT-powered?) from random truckers talking about truck life (prevent small worlding and better immersion) with the odd announcement from a dispatcher about a new run available at X location, let's say once every few hours. All PCs would then compete for that run. This could introduce random events or obstacles that occur during the cargo runs, led by other players, such as ambushes by rival groups or law enforcement, that would require the groups to strategically plan and prepare for their deliveries.
Reputation system
All successful runs should increase a reputation level for the player's faction. If a player is associated to a faction (PRI, syndicates, or a business) that faction's reputation should go up and as a reward they will receive better runs with better payouts. If you fail a run your reputation goes down and your payouts go down, until it hits a minimum and your license is subjected to audit by the WJF.
Cargo theft
If you disable a vehicle, or intercept a cargo run, there should be a mechanism to steal the cargo. Let's say you can remove the cargo from the back of a van, which becomes a carryable object which then you can put back into another cargo vehicle or sell it to a NPC. Stolen cargo can be sold off to a random NPC (let's think about someone who already buys stolen crates, for example) for extra profit, damaging the reputation level of whoever you stole it from and earning a quick profit, much like MacGuffins.
