• Energy Research

The concept of sustainable transportation of goods as the primary paradigm for designing contemporary logistics systems assumes the use of energy-efficient and affordable modes of transport in a way that guarantees the most cost-efficient variant of the delivery scheme. That especially applies to road transport deliveries, where the number of alternatives for organizing the transportation process is numerous and the choice of the optimal solution is complicated by the multiple stochastic influences of the environment on the technological processes. In this paper, we contribute to solving the problem of shaping the sustainable delivery schemes by proposing an approach to shape the complete set of alternative transport and technological schemes for packaged cargo delivery by road transport. The developed mathematical model allows estimating the efficiency of each alternative delivery scheme for the given request and chooses the best variant that minimizes the total costs of all participants in the delivery process. The proposed algorithms are implemented in the C# programming language within the frame of a class library for modeling transport delivery processes. A case of transport processes for Delivery Ltd. (Kharkiv, Ukraine) is applied to illustrate the procedure of using the developed approach to choose the optimal transport and technological schemes for long-distance deliveries. As the result of simulating the goods transportation processes, we show the regression models that represent dependencies of the total costs for the implementation of a delivery scheme from the parameters of demand for the transportation of goods. These regression models allow estimating the most efficient delivery schemes based on the functional analysis of the obtained dependencies for the given demand parameters.

In this paper, we present the effect of making too many private car journeys on city transport systems. A sustainable approach for the development of transport infrastructure is needed, which takes into account local conditions and needs, especially for areas with a high density of origins and destinations. The criteria for evaluating public transport and bicycle transport are presented, which, if acceptable to city residents, may lead to changes in transportation behaviors and, thus, a more efficient use of transport in daily travels. Factors affecting the mode of transport choice include the duration of particular stages of a journey, such as reaching the location where the first ride commences/driving from the travel origin, waiting for a vehicle (bus journeys) or ride/drive, and reaching the travel destination of the last ride/drive. Additionally, the possibility of using a car and having a seasonal ticket for public transport were taken into account. In this study, the results of detailed travel research in the Polish city of Tarnow were used. It has been proven that the low share of public transport in daily travels is due, among other things, to excessive time to reach a stop and due to walking to journey destinations, whereas the low share of cycling is mainly due to a lack of comfort and safe cycling infrastructure.

Multimodal transport terminals are the elements of transport systems that ensure the interaction of enterprises of various modes of transport. The effective functioning of transport terminals significantly affects the efficiency of the material flow servicing in a supply chain and the sustainability of the whole transport system. The paper proposes an approach to determine the optimal parameters of production resources in multimodal transport terminals, based on numerical computer simulations of technological operations in a transport terminal for the given parameters of incoming and outgoing material flows. The practical use of the proposed approach is shown on the example of the Amur Harbor cargo area of the Dnipro River Port.

The COVID-19 pandemic is completely changing the transport customs of city residents. It has decreased the number of travels and has affected changes in the division of transport means. This article presents a case study of the city of Warsaw, attempting to describe the process of changes in the use of public transport in daily trips in the following months of the pandemic. Statistical data on the public transport offer, number of passengers, and tickets sold in 2017–2021, which are available in monthly and annual bulletins issued by the public transport organizer, were used. The knowledge base was supplemented with the results of surveys conducted among the city’s residents. The obtained data were organized and analyzed using descriptive statistics methods. The study findings reveal that the lower use of public transport for travel during the COVID-19 pandemic is mainly due to the imposed limits on the number of passengers and is also linked to changes in the structure of the tickets purchased, especially a significant decrease in the sale of long-distance tickets, which implies the loss of a significant number of most valuable, regular users. It was also observed that the appraisal of public transport did not deteriorate, which allowed to expect with optimism the return of passengers after the pandemic. Therefore, a package of possible steps to be taken to restore confidence in public transport and to enable return of lost passengers is presented. The results of the analyses show how easily passengers can be lost and why it is so important to ensure the functioning of public transport even in crisis situations such as a pandemic. These results can also be applied in transport policy updates.