by Walther Ploos van Amstel
When refrigerated products are delivered using a mobile cooler with electric transport, there are no CO2 emissions. It also reduced the number of transport movements in Amsterdam during a trial initiated by Dutch Leen Menken Foodservice Logistics and Rijkswaterstaat this spring. The test took place in Amsterdam Zuid. Further research and deploying multiple mobile cool …
Unlike autonomous car applications, the operational area of urban service autonomous robots like autonomous delivery robots (ADRs) is not clearly defined. Moreover, assessing the feasibility of various operating scenarios is difficult due to large variations in the different robot designs, specific local infrastructure, and regulations. A new paper presents a prototype evaluation methodology based on …
The expanding freight traffic in the courier, express, and parcel services (CEP) sector is increasingly posing major challenges to urban agglomerations. The main driver for this development is the dynamic growth of e-commerce, as it causes a change in consumer behavior towards an on-demand economy and continuous growth in the volume of shipments in the …
How can urban freight in densely populated cities be organized smartly and sustainably? The final report of the joint project Smart Zone Stuttgart, commissioned by the state capital Stuttgart, the Fraunhofer IAO, the cooperating IAT of the University of Stuttgart, and ParkUnload shows what digital delivery zone management in the state capital can look like …
The maturation of online consumption and the amplification of cities’ initiatives in response to local and global environmental challenges has placed goods transport, an essential but impactful activity, at the forefront of urban stakeholders’ scrutiny. High-performance and low-impact supply chains benefit from the presence of logistics facilities in proximity to goods’ destinations. This development of …
Urban freight is growing fast, and its adverse effects bring consequences for the residents, the environment, and the liveability of cities. Although understanding its dynamics has become a priority for governments, the multiplicity of actors with conflicting objectives makes it a significant urban planning challenge. A study by Juan E. Muriel et al. focuses on …
Changing consumer behavior in Europe is accelerating e-commerce and the demand for city logistics. The kilometers driven by delivery vans increased by 111% between 2016 and 2020 in the Netherlands. While the growth of the city logistics sector enables a wide availability of on-demand delivery services for residents, businesses, and organizations, the sector also contributes …
At the Bloomberg Citylab conference in Amsterdam, I spoke with the mayor of Bogota (Colombia), Claudia López Hernández, about the challenges of megacities in city logistics. Surrounded by mountains, Bogota has transformed itself in recent decades from a city with poor infrastructure and significant safety and security problems to a more sustainable and liveable city. …
City logistics is under attack with more car-free residential areas, congested inner cities, and pedestrianized campuses. In the following years, logistics service providers must deliver more volume with fewer vehicles, safer and cleaner. Logistics service providers should plan city logistics routes carefully, considering local regulations, zero-emission zones, road closures, times windows, loading and unloading points, …
A research paper by Karolina Isaksson and Jens Alm aims to deepen the insights into specific policy and planning prerequisites that affect how bicycle logistics services can be initiated and established in urban environments. Empirical data consist of policy documents and qualitative interviews with bicycle logistics entrepreneurs and local policy actors from four Swedish municipalities, which …