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Public purchasing as game changer in smarter and cleaner urban freight distribution

Designing Light Electric Vehicles for urban freight transport

The number of light commercial vehicles (LCV) in cities is growing, which puts increasing pressure on the livability of cities. Freight vehicles are large contributors to polluting air and CO2 emissions and generate problems in terms of safety, noise and loss of public space. Small electric freight vehicles and cargo bikes can offer a solution, as they take less space, can maneuver easily and do not emit local pollution. There is an increasing interest in these vehicle, called light electric freight vehicles (LEFV’s), among logistic service providers in European cities. However, various technical and operational challenges impede large scale implementation. Within the two-year LEVV-LOGIC project, (2016-2018) the use of LEFV’s for city logistics is explored. The project combines expertise on logistics, vehicle design, charging infrastructure and business modelling to find the optimal concept in which LEFV’s can be a financial competitive alternative for conventional freight vehicles. This contribution to EVS30 will present the project’s first year results, showing the guideline for and the applied design of LEFV for future urban city logistics.

Integrated infomobility services for urban freight distribution

City logistics is one of the causes of today's road congestion in our cities, but at the same time its efficiency is affected by the traffic problems. The driving behaviour and mission strategies used by vans and lorries operating in urban areas usually does not exploit modern infomobility solutions. CityLog, a project co-funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme, aims at increasing the sustainability and the efficiency of urban goods deliveries through an adaptive and integrated mission management and by innovative vehicle features. More particularly, CityLog integrates a wide range of logistics-oriented infomobility services that include an optimized pre-trip planner, a new type of navigation system based on enhanced maps and a last mile parcel tracking service to avoid unsuccessful deliveries. © 2011 IEEE.

Light Electric Freight Vehicles – Beyond the Hype?

The developments in city logistics are leading to an increasing number of smaller, time-sensitive deliveries. The parcel market has consistently grown over the past decade, with emerging business models such as ship-from-store (both B2C and B2B) and quick commerce. Moreover, companies are increasingly striving to become more sustainable. To address the challenges of faster delivery, clean transportation (low/zero-emission), and limited space in dense cities, the Light Electric Freight Vehicle (LEFV) presents itself as an innovative solution. This study focuses on LEFVs, encompassing all vehicles with a logistics application ranging from pedal-assisted cargo bikes to light electric vans (LEFV-N1). We specifically examine fresh goods delivery, parcel delivery, service logistics, and construction logistics for urban logistics applications. The study concentrates on factors that account for the potential growth of various types of LEFVs in the Netherlands across these applications over the next decade. The research methodology involves desk research, validation through workshops, quantitative analysis, and interviews with users, legislators, manufacturers, and dealers/leasing companies. The findings of the study include identification of trends, developments, vehicle characteristics, legal frameworks, potential growth opportunities for LEFVs, policies governing LEFV deployment, user profiles, reasons for deployment, and an estimated count of LEFVs in 2027. This count distinguishes between cannibalization on N1 and the number of LEFVs entering new (and partly non-existent) markets.

On the cost elasticity of inter-regional distribution structures: a case study for the Netherlands

Several studies show that logistics facilities have spread spatially from relatively concentrated clusters in the 1970s to geographically more decentralized patterns away from urban areas. The literature indicates that logistics costs are one of the major influences on changes in distribution structures, or locations and usage of logistics facilities. Quantitative modelling studies that aim to describe or predict these phenomena in relation to logistics costs are lacking, however. This is relevant to design more effective policies concerning spatial development, transport and infrastructure investments as well as for understanding environmental consequences of freight transport. The objective of this paper is to gain an understanding of the responsiveness of spatial logistics patterns to changes in these costs, using a quantitative model that links production and consumption points via distribution centers. The model is estimated to reproduce observed use of logistics facilities as well as related transport flows, for the case of the Netherlands. We apply the model to estimate the impacts of a number of scenarios on the spatial spreading of regional distribution activity, interregional vehicle movements and commodity flows. We estimate new cost elasticities, of the demand for trade and transport together, as well as specifically for the demand for the distribution facility services. The relatively low cost elasticity of transport services and high cost elasticity for the distribution services provide new insights for policy makers, relevant to understand the possible impacts of their policies on land use and freight flows.

Different charging strategies for electric vehicle fleets in urban freight transport.

The transition from diesel-driven urban freight transport towards more electric urban freight transport turns out to be challenging in practice. A major concern for transport operators is how to find a reliable charging strategy for a larger electric vehicle fleet that provides flexibility based on different daily mission profiles within that fleet, while also minimizing costs. This contribution assesses the trade-off between a large battery pack and opportunity charging with regard to costs and operational constraints. Based on a case study with 39 electric freight vehicles that have been used by a parcel delivery company and a courier company in daily operations for over a year, various scenarios have been analyzed by means of a TCO analysis. Although a large battery allows for more flexibility in planning, opportunity charging can provide a feasible alternative, especially in the case of varying mission profiles. Additional personnel costs during opportunity charging can be avoided as much as possible by a well-integrated charging strategy, which can be realized by a reservation system that minimizes the risk of occupied charging stations and a dense network of charging stations.