scholarly journals Introducing the Shared Micro-Depot Network for Last-Mile Logistics

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2067
Author(s):  
Leonardo N. Rosenberg ◽  
Noemie Balouka ◽  
Yale T. Herer ◽  
Eglantina Dani ◽  
Paco Gasparin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Sustainable Logistics ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Business To Consumer ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
New Research

Last-mile logistics is both a source and cause of problems in urban areas, especially problems related to traffic congestion, unsustainable delivery modes, and limited parking availability. In this context, multiple sustainable logistics solutions have been proposed. We focus on micro-depots (MDs), which can function as a consolidation center and a collection-and-delivery point for business-to-consumer (B2C) small parcels. This paper presents a new research idea that extends the existing MD solution by introducing the concept of a shared MD network with parcel lockers. Such networks enable multiple logistics service providers (LSPs) and/or business partners to use an MD while minimizing their individual costs and optimizing the use of urban space. We present case studies of such shared MD networks operating in the cities of Helsinki and Helmond. We provide a framework for auxiliary businesses that can exploit the existing MD structure to offer services to the surrounding population. Finally, we define metrics for evaluating the success of shared MD networks while considering social, environmental and economic objectives. The case studies highlight the complexity of implementing such a solution; it requires stakeholders’ involvement and collaboration. In particular, deciding on the location for a shared MD network is a critical phase, since local authorities have their own regulations, and residents’ preferences are usually different than LSPs’ ones. Nevertheless, if these challenges are overcome, this sustainable last-mile logistics solution has a promising future.

Assessing the First and Last Mile Problem for Intercity Passenger Rail Service

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Lorena Losada Rojas ◽  
Konstantina “Nadia” Gkritza ◽  
V. Dimitra Pyrialakou
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Short Distance ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Public Transit ◽  
Passenger Rail ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Rail Service

The first and last mile of a trip has been used to describe passenger travel with regards to getting to and from transit stops/stations. Solving the first and last mile (FMLM) problem extends the access to transportation systems and enlarges the number of passengers from a remote community, such as rural areas. The FMLM problem has been addressed in different public transit contexts, mainly within urban areas. However, it is also an important part of the journey in an intercity trip; yet, limited research efforts have been undertaken to examine the FMLM problem that intercity passenger train riders face. This paper fills in this gap and further, aims to identify the best strategies that could serve as a FMLM solution for short distance intercity passenger rail service (i.e., corridors that are less than 750 miles long according to the Passenger Rail Improvement and Investment Act, 2008). The Hoosier State Train (HST) service, a short-distance intercity passenger rail that connects Chicago and Indianapolis four days a week, was chosen as a case of study. The HST has four intermediate stops located in Indiana. For some of those intermediate stops HST is the only intercity public transit service offered to reach either Chicago or Indianapolis. In order to explore opportunities to enhance the HST ridership, an on-board survey was conducted in November and December 2016. The findings of this survey suggested that there are riders who travel from counties further away from a county with a station to reach and complete their journey on the train. Moreover, it was found that most of the respondents drove or rented a car, or were dropped off to reach a train station in Indiana. Unlike the results from the Chicago station, the majority of riders boarding the train from one of the Indiana stations did not use ridesharing services or public transportation. These findings suggest that there is a possible gap into the FMLM travel options for intercity rail riders and alternative options to fill this gap should be considered. This paper discusses the case study results of an accessibility analysis aiming to identify the areas in need of first/last mile service where there are no public transportation services and/or it is costly to reach a station from a desired origin. To that end, a cost surface for the different modes available in the area of study was created to determine the average travel cost to the nearest station. The analysis was carried out in ArcGIS using origin-destination data from the on-board survey, transportation network information from the U.S. Bureau Transportation Statistics, and general transit feed specification (GTFS) data. Subsequently, some of the best strategies identified were modeled around the station (e.g., shuttle buses to/from the station) in order to examine how the accessibility would increase after a strategy implementation. The results of this study may have far-reaching implications for planning strategies that can enhance access to the train stations. Finally, the FMLM strategies could assist intercity passenger rail service providers attract a larger number of passengers.

scholarly journals LAST MILE LOGISTICS IN THE FRAMEWORK OF SMART CITIES: A TYPOLOGY OF CITY LOGISTICS SCHEMES

2020 ◽  
Vol XLIV-4/W3-2020 ◽  
pp. 335-337
Author(s):  
T. M. Özbekler ◽  
A. Karaman Akgül
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
City Logistics ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
The City

Abstract. As current cities are attributed to particular dynamism consists of population density and increased urbanization, urban areas are facing some challenges for city logistics, both in terms of economic, environmental, and social impact. Especially, the debates over last-mile logistics are arising with inefficiencies in delivery cost (half truckload on delivery) and delivery time per parcel (unnecessary waiting-load periods at multiple stops) while inner-urban areas are especially suffered from traffic congestion, emission, and noise pollution. In this regard, smart cities as a concept with the potential to produce sustainable solutions to urban problems bring along with the need for innovative urban logistics systems to make conventional distribution channels of the city up to date. The key objective tackled in this paper can be defined as the identification of the city logistics schemes with highlighting current approaches in smart cities. The study adopts a systemic approach based on the typology of consolidation-distribution schemes in city logistics to define the feasibility of micro logistics initiatives from the scope of the smart city consisting of mobility, sustainability, and liveability. Thanks to a detailed examination of city logistics dynamics, this study can contribute theoretically to smart city logistics literature as well as practically the logistics sector.

scholarly journals Collaborative Parcels Logistics via the Carrier’s Carrier Operating Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 2674 (8) ◽  
pp. 384-393
Author(s):  
Fraser McLeod ◽  
Tom Cherrett ◽  
Oliver Bates ◽  
Tolga Bektaş ◽  
Carlos Lamas-Fernandez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Vehicle Emissions ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Operating Model ◽  
Single Carrier ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Business To Consumer ◽  
Time Distance ◽  
Last Mile Delivery ◽  
Business As Usual

Parcel logistics in urban areas are characterized by many carriers undertaking similar activity patterns at the same times of day. Using substantial carrier manifest datasets, this paper demonstrates advantages from rival carriers collaborating using a “carrier’s carrier” operating model for their last-mile parcel logistics operations. Under these circumstances, a single carrier undertakes all the deliveries within a defined area on behalf of the carriers instead of them working independently. Modelling the daily delivery activity of five parcel carriers working over a 3.7 km2 area of central London, comprising around 3000 items being delivered to around 900 delivery locations, and consolidating their activity through a single carrier suggested that time, distance and associated vehicle emissions savings of around 60% could be achieved over the current business-as-usual operation. This equated to a reduction in the number of delivery vans and drivers needed from 33 to 13, with annual savings of 39,425 h, 176,324 km driven, 52,721 kg CO2 and 56.4 kg NOx. Reliance on vans and associated vehicle emissions could be reduced further by using cargo cycles alongside vans for the last-mile delivery, with estimated annual emissions savings increasing to 72,572 kg CO2 and 77.7 kg NOx. The results indicated that consolidation of items for delivery in this way would be especially beneficial to business-to-consumer (B2C) carriers whose parcel profiles comprise relatively small and light items. One of the key barriers to the wider take up of such services by individual carriers is the loss of individual brand identity that can result from operating through a carrier’s carrier.

scholarly journals Building the E-Commerce Supply Chain of the Future: What Influences Consumer Acceptance of Alternative Places of Delivery on the Last-Mile

Logistics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Björn Asdecker
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Abductive Reasoning ◽  
Consumer Acceptance ◽  
Place Of Delivery ◽  
Development Method ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Logistics Service Providers ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Business To Consumer ◽  
Low Costs

Background: To cope with the expected further growth in e-commerce and to be able to continue delivering at low costs, new concepts for the last-mile are needed. This paper reviews the literature and qualitatively investigates which factors influence the acceptance of four alternative place-of-delivery innovations in a business-to-consumer (B2C) context: (1) parcel lockers, (2) reception boxes, (3) trunk delivery, and (4) home access systems; Methods: The available literature was reviewed. Furthermore, 37 interviews were conducted and analyzed using the deductive category development method. In the following, abductive reasoning can derive detailed research models that may form the basis for future confirmative studies; Results: The research gains more detailed insights into how consumers perceive innovative last-mile place-of-delivery concepts. The study provides a clearer picture of what factors influence the intention to use such alternative services; Conclusions: The results can be used by logistics service providers and e-tailers through targeted communication efforts and lay the groundwork for further confirmatory research.

Smart Driving System for Improving Traffic Flow

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
Rajesh Kumar Gupta ◽  
L. N. Padhy ◽  
Sanjay Kumar Padhi
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Flow ◽  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Adaptive Cruise Control ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Cruise Control ◽  
Driving System ◽  
V2v Communication ◽  
Traffic Conditions ◽  
Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control

Traffic congestion on road networks is one of the most significant problems that is faced in almost all urban areas. Driving under traffic congestion compels frequent idling, acceleration, and braking, which increase energy consumption and wear and tear on vehicles. By efficiently maneuvering vehicles, traffic flow can be improved. An Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system in a car automatically detects its leading vehicle and adjusts the headway by using both the throttle and the brake. Conventional ACC systems are not suitable in congested traffic conditions due to their response delay.  For this purpose, development of smart technologies that contribute to improved traffic flow, throughput and safety is needed. In today’s traffic, to achieve the safe inter-vehicle distance, improve safety, avoid congestion and the limited human perception of traffic conditions and human reaction characteristics constrains should be analyzed. In addition, erroneous human driving conditions may generate shockwaves in addition which causes traffic flow instabilities. In this paper to achieve inter-vehicle distance and improved throughput, we consider Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) system. CACC is then implemented in Smart Driving System. For better Performance, wireless communication is used to exchange Information of individual vehicle. By introducing vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication and vehicle to roadside infrastructure (V2R) communications, the vehicle gets information not only from its previous and following vehicle but also from the vehicles in front of the previous Vehicle and following vehicle. This enables a vehicle to follow its predecessor at a closer distance under tighter control.

DETECTING HIDDEN FAULTS IN URBAN AREAS: CASE STUDIES AND METHODOLOGIES

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda R. Hultz ◽  
◽  
Kerri M. Gefeke ◽  
Kerri M. Gefeke ◽  
Elana Balch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Urban Areas

Efficient Schedule of Energy-Constrained UAV Using Crowdsourced Buses in Last-Mile Parcel Delivery

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Yan Pan ◽  
Shining Li ◽  
Qianwu Chen ◽  
Nan Zhang ◽  
Tao Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Load Capacity ◽  
Scheduling Algorithm ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Logistics Industry ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Delivery Scheduling ◽  
Schedule Approach

Stimulated by the dramatical service demand in the logistics industry, logistics trucks employed in last-mile parcel delivery bring critical public concerns, such as heavy cost burden, traffic congestion and air pollution. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are a promising alternative tool in last-mile delivery, which is however limited by insufficient flight range and load capacity. This paper presents an innovative energy-limited logistics UAV schedule approach using crowdsourced buses. Specifically, when one UAV delivers a parcel, it first lands on a crowdsourced social bus to parcel destination, gets recharged by the wireless recharger deployed on the bus, and then flies from the bus to the parcel destination. This novel approach not only increases the delivery range and load capacity of battery-limited UAVs, but is also much more cost-effective and environment-friendly than traditional methods. New challenges therefore emerge as the buses with spatiotemporal mobility become the bottleneck during delivery. By landing on buses, an Energy-Neutral Flight Principle and a delivery scheduling algorithm are proposed for the UAVs. Using the Energy-Neutral Flight Principle, each UAV can plan a flying path without depleting energy given buses with uncertain velocities. Besides, the delivery scheduling algorithm optimizes the delivery time and number of delivered parcels given warehouse location, logistics UAVs, parcel locations and buses. Comprehensive evaluations using a large-scale bus dataset demonstrate the superiority of the innovative logistics UAV schedule approach.

scholarly journals iBikeSafe: A Multi-Parameter System for Monitoring, Evaluation and Visualization of Cycling Paths in Smart Cities Targeted at Cycling Adverse Conditions

Smart Cities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1058-1086
Author(s):  
Franklin Oliveira ◽  
Daniel G. Costa ◽  
Luciana Lima ◽  
Ivanovitch Silva
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Large City ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Parameter System ◽  
Urban Centers ◽  
Adverse Conditions ◽  
Last Mile ◽  
Real Scenario

The fast transformation of the urban centers, pushed by the impacts of climatic changes and the dramatic events of the COVID-19 Pandemic, will profoundly influence our daily mobility. This resulted scenario is expected to favor adopting cleaner and flexible modal solutions centered on bicycles and scooters, especially as last-mile options. However, as the use of bicycles has rapidly increased, cyclists have been subject to adverse conditions that may affect their health and safety when cycling in urban areas. Therefore, whereas cities should implement mechanisms to monitor and evaluate adverse conditions in cycling paths, cyclists should have some effective mechanism to visualize the indirect quality of cycling paths, eventually supporting choosing more appropriate routes. Therefore, this article proposes a comprehensive multi-parameter system based on multiple independent subsystems, covering all phases of data collecting, formatting, transmission, and processing related to the monitoring, evaluating, and visualizing the quality of cycling paths in the perspective of adverse conditions that affect cyclist. The formal interactions of all modules are carefully described, as well as implementation and deployment details. Additionally, a case study is considered for a large city in Brazil, demonstrating how the proposed system can be adopted in a real scenario.

scholarly journals Community Perceptions and Knowledge of Modern Stormwater Treatment Assets

Urban Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Hadi Zamanifard ◽  
Edward A. Morgan ◽  
Wade L. Hadwen
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Urban Runoff ◽  
Community Perceptions ◽  
Stormwater Treatment ◽  
Runoff Water ◽  
Community Acceptance ◽  
Water Sensitive Urban Design

Modern stormwater treatment assets are a form of water sensitive urban design (WSUD) features that aim to reduce the volumes of sediment, nutrients and gross pollutants discharged into receiving waterways. Local governments and developers in urban areas are installing and maintaining a large number of stormwater treatment assets, with the aim of improving urban runoff water quality. Many of these assets take up significant urban space and are highly visible and as a result, community acceptance is essential for effective WSUD design and implementation. However, community perceptions and knowledge about these assets have not been widely studied. This study used a survey to investigate community perceptions and knowledge about stormwater treatment assets in Brisbane, Australia. The results suggest that there is limited community knowledge of these assets, but that communities notice them and value their natural features when well-maintained. This study suggests that local governments may be able to better inform residents about the importance of these assets, and that designing for multiple purposes may improve community acceptance and support for the use of Council funds to maintain them.

scholarly journals Mapping 20 Years of Urban Expansion in 45 Urban Areas of Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 525
Author(s):  
Yann Forget ◽  
Michal Shimoni ◽  
Marius Gilbert ◽  
Catherine Linard
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Annual Growth Rate ◽  
Urban Dynamics ◽  
Mapping Approach ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

By 2050, half of the net increase in the world’s population is expected to reside in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), driving high urbanization rates and drastic land cover changes. However, the data-scarce environment of SSA limits our understanding of the urban dynamics in the region. In this context, Earth Observation (EO) is an opportunity to gather accurate and up-to-date spatial information on urban extents. During the last decade, the adoption of open-access policies by major EO programs (CBERS, Landsat, Sentinel) has allowed the production of several global high resolution (10–30 m) maps of human settlements. However, mapping accuracies in SSA are usually lower, limited by the lack of reference datasets to support the training and the validation of the classification models. Here we propose a mapping approach based on multi-sensor satellite imagery (Landsat, Sentinel-1, Envisat, ERS) and volunteered geographic information (OpenStreetMap) to solve the challenges of urban remote sensing in SSA. The proposed mapping approach is assessed in 17 case studies for an average F1-score of 0.93, and applied in 45 urban areas of SSA to produce a dataset of urban expansion from 1995 to 2015. Across the case studies, built-up areas averaged a compound annual growth rate of 5.5% between 1995 and 2015. The comparison with local population dynamics reveals the heterogeneity of urban dynamics in SSA. Overall, population densities in built-up areas are decreasing. However, the impact of population growth on urban expansion differs depending on the size of the urban area and its income class.

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