IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transe/v145y2021ics136655452030781x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A theoretical framework to evaluate the traffic impact of urban freight consolidation centres

Author

Listed:
  • Mepparambath, Rakhi Manohar
  • Cheah, Lynette
  • Courcoubetis, Costas

Abstract

City logistics and goods movement using road freight is an outcome of the economic activities that sustain urban life. However, they produce negative externalities like traffic congestion and pollution. There are key areas within cities that are largely affected by logistics activities, such as commercial centres and retail districts. These locations attract many freight vehicles attempting to fulfil deliveries, often with limited parking supply. This results in long queues of delivery trucks waiting for parking spaces or illegal kerbside parking. Therefore, urban planners and decision-makers are motivated to initiate policies that can mitigate these impacts. Urban freight management policies like delivery time or truck size restrictions, and Urban Consolidation Centres (UCC) have been proposed as potential solutions. A UCC is a facility that allows deliveries to be consolidated before entering a busy commercial area. The focus of this study is to offer a theoretical framework for predicting the impact of a UCC on the number of freight trips attracted to a retail district in any city. A mathematical model is developed and used to analyse two possible policy cases concerning the location of a UCC: one where the UCC is located within the retail district, and another where the UCC is located outside the retail district. This model is subsequently applied to examine a retail district in Singapore using real-world data. The critical level of participation in a UCC scheme required for the retail district to experience fewer freight trips is characterised. The results show a diminishing marginal benefit associated with achieving greater consolidation by operating the UCC. This contribution offers a theoretical explanation for the traffic impacts of urban freight consolidation, and aids with the development an ex-ante evaluation of a UCC. The model may be readily applied to any city considering this initiative, by adjusting the model parameters for local conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Mepparambath, Rakhi Manohar & Cheah, Lynette & Courcoubetis, Costas, 2021. "A theoretical framework to evaluate the traffic impact of urban freight consolidation centres," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transe:v:145:y:2021:i:c:s136655452030781x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tre.2020.102134
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136655452030781X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tre.2020.102134?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eiichi Taniguchi & Rob E.C.M. Van Der Heijden, 2000. "An evaluation methodology for city logistics," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 65-90, January.
    2. Campbell, James F., 1990. "Freight consolidation and routing with transportation economies of scale," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 345-361, October.
    3. Stathopoulos, Amanda & Valeri, Eva & Marcucci, Edoardo, 2012. "Stakeholder reactions to urban freight policy innovation," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 34-45.
    4. Edoardo Marcucci & Romeo Danielis, 2008. "The potential demand for a urban freight consolidation centre," Transportation, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 269-284, March.
    5. Daganzo, Carlos F., 1988. "Shipment composition enhancement at a consolidation center," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 103-124, April.
    6. dell’Olio, Luigi & Moura, Jose Luis & Ibeas, Angel & Cordera, Ruben & Holguin-Veras, Jose, 2017. "Receivers’ willingness-to-adopt novel urban goods distribution practices," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 130-141.
    7. Holguín-Veras, José & Aros-Vera, Felipe & Browne, Michael, 2015. "Agent interactions and the response of supply chains to pricing and incentives," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 147-155.
    8. Nordtømme, Marianne Elvsaas & Bjerkan, Kristin Ystmark & Sund, Astrid Bjørgen, 2015. "Barriers to urban freight policy implementation: The case of urban consolidation center in Oslo," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 179-186.
    9. Julian Allen & Michael Browne & Allan Woodburn & Jacques Leonardi, 2012. "The Role of Urban Consolidation Centres in Sustainable Freight Transport," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 473-490, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Sijing & He, Nannan & Cao, Xindan & Li, Guoqi & Jian, Ming, 2022. "Logistics cluster and its future development: A comprehensive research review," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    2. Akgün, Emine Zehra & Monios, Jason & Cowie, Jonathan & Fonzone, Achille, 2024. "The retailer perspective on the potential for using urban consolidation centres (UCCs)," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    3. Regal, Andrés & Gonzalez-Feliu, Jesús & Rodriguez, Michelle, 2023. "A spatio-functional logistics profile clustering analysis method for metropolitan areas," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    4. Orhan, Cosku Can & Goez, Julio Cesar & Guajardo, Mario & Osicka, Ondrej & Wallace, Stein W., 2024. "Assessing macro effects of freight consolidation on the livability of small cities using vehicle routing as micro models: The case of Bergen, Norway," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Akgün, Emine Zehra & Monios, Jason & Cowie, Jonathan & Fonzone, Achille, 2024. "The retailer perspective on the potential for using urban consolidation centres (UCCs)," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    2. Daniele Crotti & Elena Maggi, 2023. "Social Responsibility and Urban Consolidation Centres in Sustainable Freight Transport Markets," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(2), pages 829-850, July.
    3. Aljohani, Khalid & Thompson, Russell G., 2021. "Profitability of freight consolidation facilities: A detailed cost analysis based on theoretical modelling," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    4. Leise Kelli de Oliveira & Carla de Oliveira Leite Nascimento & Paulo Renato de Sousa & Paulo Tarso Vilela de Resende & Francisco Gildemir Ferreira da Silva, 2019. "Transport Service Provider Perception of Barriers and Urban Freight Policies in Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Aljohani, Khalid & Thompson, Russell G., 2021. "Modelling individual preferences of goods receivers for a Receiver-led delivery consolidation service," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 74-94.
    6. Anand, Nilesh & van Duin, Ron & Tavasszy, Lorant, 2021. "Carbon credits and urban freight consolidation: An experiment using agent based simulation," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    7. Janjevic, Milena & Ndiaye, Alassane, 2017. "Investigating the theoretical cost-relationships of urban consolidation centres for their users," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 98-118.
    8. Estrada, Miquel & Roca-Riu, Mireia, 2017. "Stakeholder’s profitability of carrier-led consolidation strategies in urban goods distribution," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 165-188.
    9. Holguín-Veras, José & Amaya Leal, Johanna & Sanchez-Diaz, Ivan & Browne, Michael & Wojtowicz, Jeffrey, 2020. "State of the art and practice of urban freight management Part II: Financial approaches, logistics, and demand management," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 383-410.
    10. Francesco Ciardiello & Andrea Genovese & Shucheng Luo & Antonino Sgalambro, 2023. "A game-theoretic multi-stakeholder model for cost allocation in urban consolidation centres," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 324(1), pages 663-686, May.
    11. Cindy Guerlain & Samuel Renault & Francesco Ferrero & Sébastien Faye, 2019. "Decision Support Systems for Smarter and Sustainable Logistics of Construction Sites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-22, May.
    12. Isa, Selma Setsumi & Lima, Orlando Fontes & Vidal Vieira, José Geraldo, 2021. "Urban consolidation centers: Impact analysis by stakeholder," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    13. Hezarkhani, Behzad & Slikker, Marco & Van Woensel, Tom, 2019. "Gain-sharing in urban consolidation centers," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 279(2), pages 380-392.
    14. Sears, Sean & Moataz, Mohamed & Ferguson, Mark & Razavi, Saiedeh & Páez, Antonio, 2022. "Perceived barriers to the movement of goods in Canada: A grounded theory investigation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 27-45.
    15. Amaya, Johanna & Arellana, Julian & Delgado-Lindeman, Maira, 2020. "Stakeholders perceptions to sustainable urban freight policies in emerging markets," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 329-348.
    16. Holguín-Veras, José & Amaya Leal, Johanna & Seruya, Barbara B., 2017. "Urban freight policymaking: The role of qualitative and quantitative research," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 75-85.
    17. Jihane El Ouadi & Hanae Errousso & Nicolas Malhene & Siham Benhadou & Hicham Medromi, 2022. "A machine-learning based hybrid algorithm for strategic location of urban bundling hubs to support shared public transport," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3215-3258, October.
    18. Daniele Crotti & Elena Maggi, 2017. "Urban Distribution Centres and Competition among Logistics Providers: a Hotelling Approach," SAS: Society and Sustainability 256057, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    19. Serban Raicu & Dorinela Costescu & Stefan Burciu, 2020. "Distribution System with Flow Consolidation at the Boundary of Urban Congested Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, January.
    20. Jacques Leonardi & Laetitia Dablanc & Patrick van Egmond & Cindy Guerlain, 2015. "Feasibility Study of a Network of Consolidation Centres in Luxembourg," Post-Print hal-01255357, HAL.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:transe:v:145:y:2021:i:c:s136655452030781x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600244/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.