Abstract

Urban consolidation centers (UCCs) have a key role in many initiatives in urban logistics, yet few of them are successful in the long run. The high costs have proven a barrier that prevents attracting a sufficient high number of UCC users. In this paper, we study how the user base of a UCC develops under a variety of administrative policies. We perform an agent-based simulation applied to the city of Copenhagen, making use of its real street network and retailer locations. We collect data from a variety of sources to help modeling the agents. Both the data and case setup are validated by means of expert interviews. We test 1,458 schemes that combine several administrative measures and cost settings. The numerical results indicate that most schemes yield significant environmental benefits; many of them are able to reduce the truck kilometers driven by about 65% and emissions by about 70%. The key challenge isto identify schemes that are also financially sustainable. We show that it is essential for the UCC to ensure the commitment of carriers as soon as possible, as the bulk of the revenue can be generated from this target group. Subsequent revenues may be generated by offering value-adding services to receivers. Based on the numerical experiments, we pose various propositions that aid in providing favorable conditions for a UCC, improving its chances of long-term success. Document type: Article

Abstract

This paper analyzes the changes in spatial–temporal job accessibility by car in the Netherlands during the economic crisis (2009–14). It also assesses which component change is the most determinant in accessibility changes per municipality and part of the day. The paper shows that changes in job distribution reduced accessibility in almost the entire country, except around Amsterdam. Improvements in the road network capacity increased accessibility in the central provinces, particularly during peak hours. In summary, the values of job accessibility by car in the Netherlands became more transport dependent, except in the Amsterdam region. Document type: Article

Abstract

Information-based demand measures using social routing advice are receiving increasing attention, as they are expected to be successful in reducing the traffic congestion. Such measures direct travelers toward routes that benefit the road network. As such, some travelers need to act socially and take a detour. This paper explores the impacts on network performance and equity that result from the application of a social routing service. We complement the existing work by using a large-scale real-world road network, by assessing impacts on the individual level and by discussing our findings in the light of observed individual compliance behavior obtained from a field experiment. Our results show that 3.6% of total travel time within our road network could be reduced when all trips are made in compliance with the received advice. However, based on the observed compliance behavior, a social routing service is expected to direct only a minority of travelers toward social routes. We show how the attained travel time savings vary with the assumed compliance rate, e.g., to achieve 50% of the potential travel time savings, about 30% of travelers need to be willing to take a detour. Moreover, we find that lower the compliance among travelers, the more the social travelers need to compensate for the selfish behavior of others by taking longer detours. Finally, we demonstrate that the impacts on network performance and equity highly depend on the spatial distribution of social travelers among origins and destinations. Document type: Article