Category «Research»

Research: vans versus bikes versus drones

Urban distribution in medium-sized cities faces a major challenge, mainly when deliveries are difficult in the city center due to: an increase in e-commerce, weak public transportation system, and the promotion of urban sustainability plans. As a result, private cars, public transportation, and freight transportation compete for the same space. A new paper by Serrano-Hernandez …

Research: the environmental impact and costs of externalities of using urban consolidation centres

Literature on city logistics presents a large number of practical experiences of urban consolidation centres (UCCs). Still, there is limited knowledge about the potential reduction of the environmental impact and the related externality costs (vehicle kilometres, the number of vehicles, CO2 , NOx  and PM). A new paper by Katsela et al. evaluates the environmental …

Cargo bikes are a winner in parcel deliveries

Electric cargo bikes provide a cleaner, quicker solution for urban deliveries, but clearer regulations and banning fossil-fuelled vehicles are key to encouraging their uptake. These were conclusions of The Promise of Low-Carbon Freight report, which, using data from logistics operator Pedal Me, found that adopting cargo bikes not only reduced carbon emissions by 90%, compared with diesel …

Research: exploring the feasibility of electric vehicles in the short food supply chain

The transition towards more sustainable approaches in the Food Supply Chain was concretely visible in the implementation of alternative models, like Short Food Supply Chains. Some authors raise doubts on the environmental impact of this model, in particular for the externalities caused by the transport system, suggesting the adoption of Electric Freight vehicles. By adopting …

Winning Last Mile Challenge team addresses the problem of combining mathematical routes with driver knowledge

Finding the optimal route between multiple destinations (the traveling salesman problem) is a challenge regularly faced by Amazon’s Last Mile team. Meeting that challenge has meant developing planning software to allow Amazon’s delivery fleet to find the most efficient routes. But what happens when drivers must deviate from those routes? Drivers have access to real-time …

Research: the role of incentives in zero-emission last-mile deliveries in California

Last-mile deliveries usually occur within urban areas where logistics operations increase congestion and emissions, as well as associated roadway-related health impacts. A new paper evaluates the role of incentives for zero and near-zero emission vehicle (ZEV) technologies in last-mile delivery operations. Specifically, the study investigates the total cost of ownership and life cycle environmental impacts associated with …

Research: Opportunities for integration between Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and freight transport

A new paper explores the potential integration of freight transport into a Mobility as a Service (MaaS) environment. MaaS is a user-oriented service concept providing door-to-door mobility solutions for people. It integrates services of multiple providers, enabling searching, booking, and payment through a single digital platform. Although MaaS is often presented as a great opportunity …

Research: crowdsourcing hybrid fleets

Retail firms now offer same-day delivery via hybrid fleets that augment a privately owned delivery fleet with crowdsourced assets. As research on crowdsourced delivery continues to grow, it has implicitly assumed deliveries being conducted with an entirely crowdsourced fleet. In a new study by Catello et. al., researchers adopt a sociotechnical systems perspective to consider …