by Walther Ploos van Amstel
Unprecedented opportunities and challenges shape the future of mobility of people and the transportation of cargo. New technologies including vehicle and system automation, connected driving, and electric propulsion, as well as shared-economy based, information system supported and data-driven services, pose endless possibilities.
The German NCP project “Cargo Bike Depot: implementing of depots in inner cities” investigates the traffic-, logistic- and citizen-friendly implementation of load handling nodes for cargo bikes in urban areas. One component of the research is the investigation of the effect of high cargo bike traffic intensities induced by the transshipment nodes on city streets …
Entering into the world of electric mobility, we have to prepare for a local public-charging infrastructure for e-mobility. Over the past five years, the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) – researchers, teachers, and students, together with municipalities, research institutes and companies – have gathered and analyzed the charging data of public-charging infrastructure in the Netherlands.
This week the International Physical Internet Conference 2019 (IPIC 2019) takes place in London. IPIC 2019 aims to provide an open forum for researchers, industry representatives, government officials and citizens to together explore, discuss, introduce leading-edge concepts, methodologies, recent projects, technological advancements, start-up initiatives, for current and future Physical Internet implementation.
The BuyZET project ended on May 31st, and the three core cities of the project (Rotterdam, Copenhagen, and Oslo) have published their Innovative Procurement Plans for zero-emission transport, to be implemented in the coming years.
Alphabet’s plan for a new waterfront city in Toronto includes a standard smart container for last-mile logistics. Sidewalk Labs unveiled its Master Innovation and Development Plan to transform the site into the most innovative district in the world, with a network of sensors generating data on how people, goods, and vehicles move throughout the new community.
Parcel delivery has been subject to significant paradigm shifts over recent decades, caused by urbanization. The economic development in the mid-1990s led to the rise of faster-growing medium-large-sized companies that specialized in the delivery of small parcels, giving birth to the Global Courier, Express, and Parcel (CEP) market.
In previous decades the postal sector experienced drastic changes. Liberalization and digitization resulted in a continuous mail market decline. Simultaneously the booming e-commerce parcel delivery market requires Postal Operators (POs) to rigorously restructure their delivery networks to reduce distribution costs. POs are evaluating synergy opportunities between the mail and parcel delivery network.
The e-commerce sector is working on sustainable deliveries of online orders. The delivery vans now quickly become electric. They try to deliver first-time-right. Focus on fewer returns. And, the warehouses are super sustainable. But how many large boxes are not delivered carrying only one silly little product?
Truck drivers have the highest overall exposure to air pollution and yet are being overlooked in the air quality debate, according to scientists at King’s College London. Research by UK environmental charity Hubbub in cooperation with the King’s College and The Times examined how poor air quality affected people living and working in London.