• Energy Research

Abstract Megacities in emerging markets are a relatively new phenomenon. The size of these cities combined with the high growth rates provides substantial sustainability challenges. Urban freight transport (UFT) contributes to these challenges. Despite its relatively low share as part of total traffic, the negative impact of UFT is disproportionate. Improving the sustainability in this context is inevitable in the light of further prospected urbanization. To study this topic, a theoretical framework is developed which is subsequently applied on literature. This allows characterizing the UFT system in a city. Such a framework is currently lacking. The framework is developed around the components of a UFT system (demand, supply and context) and the factors influencing these components. Factors include the different supply chains (demand), vehicles used (supply) and traffic measures (context). It is applied to analyze the UFT system in megacities in emerging markets. Results show that demand in different supply chains is fragmented as well as the transport. Uncontrolled sprawl and the existence of an informal economy further contribute to the complexity to regulate UFT. Based hereupon, we discuss efforts to move to more sustainable UFT in this context.

ABSTRACTCity distribution is considered to be unsustainable. Efforts to improve this condition are hindered by three challenges Local authorities implement restrictive measures, which do not fully take account of the interests of all stakeholders. sufficiently into account. As the demand for goods in urban areas increases further in the future, solutions are necessary. At the same time, many vehicles are inefficiently loaded, leading to the unnecessary presence of freight vehicles. In this paper, we propose a new classification of innovative concepts for sustainable city distribution called the 4 A's, which take into account these challenges. The 4 A's stand for Awareness, Avoidance, Act and shift, and Anticipation of new technologies. These concepts can be implemented by the one responsible for city distribution—the private sector. For each ‘A,’ an overview of possible concepts, and the most important characteristics and the gaps in the research are provided. Stakeholder involvement is stressed as the ke...

Last mile deliveries in urban areas cause a disproportionate unsustainable impact, while it is also the most expensive part of the supply chain. This is particularly true for freight flows that are characterized by fragmentation. Logistically, this becomes apparent in vehicles that are driving around with a low vehicle fill rate, leading to the unnecessary presence of freight vehicles in our cities. This study focuses on the operational feasibility of utilizing the spare transportation capacity of a service-driven company as a potential solution to supply small independent retailers, or nanostores. The aim is to reduce inefficient vehicle movement. Based on a real-life implementation, we use SYnchronization Model for Belgian Inland Transport (SYMBIT), an agent-based model, to simulate various bundling scenarios. Results show the total vehicle kilometers and lead times to supply nanostores for the service-driven company to serve its customers. There is a potential to utilize spare capacity to supply nanostores while maintaining a decent service level. The number of vehicle kilometers driven highly depends on the location of the distribution center where the service-driven company operates. Based on these results, the conditions that have to be met to replicate this solution in other urban areas are discussed.

Abstract Urban freight transport (UFT) is fundamental to the liveability of our cities, but it also contributes to the unsustainability of the same cities. Local authorities are primarily responsible for governing urban areas and implement different measures to regulate UFT. Measures often fail as they do not reach their intended goal and sometimes even produce adverse effects. One of the primary causes is that prior to implementation, the different stakeholders affecting and being affected by the UFT are not sufficiently involved. In this study, the multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA) is applied ex-ante to evaluate to what extent different measures contribute to the objectives of different stakeholders. A municipality in Belgium, experiencing a lot of traffic, is used as a case study. Regulating UFT is in this case further complicated due to multi-level governance with different jurisdictions over infrastructure. To our knowledge, there are no similar UFT studies in a multi-level governance context. Results show that all proposed measures are an improvement for all stakeholders compared to the current situation. Future implementation of measures in this context is discussed.

AbstractA Mobile Depot (MD) is a trailer fitted with a loading dock, warehousing facilities and an office. The trailer is used as a mobile inner city base from where last-mile deliveries and first-mile pick-ups are done with electrically supported cyclocargos. In the morning and evening it is used to transport shipments from and to a peripheral depot. The MD was developed by TNT Express as a response to the challenging urban working conditions: narrow streets, mixed traffic, traffic congestion, congestion charging, environmental zones, etc. TNT Express tested this innovative concept in Brussels for a period of three months in 2013 as part of the European FP7 project STRAIGHTSOL.Regular TNT Express deliveries and pick-ups in Brussels are carried out from the TNT depot at the Brussels freight airport using diesel trucks for pallets and using diesel vans for parcels and documents. During the trial period, the parcels and documents destined for a part of the inner city were delivered and picked up through the MD.This new way of working resulted in a decrease of the number of diesel kilometres from 1.34km per stop in the Business-As-Usual scenario to 0.52km per stop in the Mobile-Depot scenario. This decrease can be linked to a positive environmental impact with, for example, 24% less emission of CO2 and up to 59% less emission of PM2.5. TNT Express was able to successfully integrate the MD in their operations. Service levels dropped slightly mainly due to the additional time needed to load the cyclocargos. However, none of the TNT customers complained about the quality of service. For TNT, delivering through the MD was twice as expensive as before. However, they feel it is possible to further decrease the operational costs by using the MD at its full capacity (the MD was only used at 40% of its full capacity) and by further refining the handling.A multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA) of the MD concept revealed under which conditions it would become a more profitable concept to TNT Express: internalised external costs, higher capacity use and higher drop density. The MAMCA also revealed that the benefits are mostly for the other stakeholders, especially society.