Abstract
Time-sensitive parcel deliveries—shipments requested for delivery in a day or less—are an increasingly important aspect of urban logistics. It is challenging to deal with these deliveries from a carrier perspective. These require additional planning constraints, preventing the efficient consolidation of deliveries that is possible when demand is well known in advance. Furthermore, such time-sensitive deliveries are requested to a wider spatial scope than retail centers, including homes and offices. Therefore, an increase in such deliveries is considered to exacerbate negative externalities, such as congestion and emissions. One of the solutions is to leverage spare capacity in passenger transport modes. This concept is often denominated as cargo hitching. While there are various system designs, it is crucial that such a solution does not deteriorate the quality of service of passenger trips. This research aims to evaluate the use of mobility-on-demand (MOD) services that perform same-day parcel deliveries. To test the MOD-based solutions, we utilize a high-resolution agent- and activity-based simulation platform of passenger and freight flows. E-commerce demand carrier data collected in Singapore are used to characterize simulated parcel delivery demand. We explore operational scenarios that aim to minimize the adverse effects of fulfilling deliveries with MOD service vehicles on passenger flows. Adverse effects are measured in fulfillment, wait, and travel times. A case study on Singapore indicates that the MOD services have potential to fulfill a considerable amount of parcel deliveries and decrease freight vehicle traffic and total vehicle kilometers travelled without compromising the quality of MOD for passenger travel. Insights into the operational performance of the cargo-hitching service are also provided.
Highlights
The rapid growth of e-commerce deliveries over the last decade is bringing about changes to the freight transportation sector
Examples of cargo hitching include using the spare capacity of public transportation, such as rail and bus, for replenishing the inventories of retail stores and using taxis or mobility-on-demand services to transport freight/parcels [8]
Looking at the MOD passengers in shared rides (Table 2), which are used for cargo hitching, there is a small decrease in passenger requests served, with the higher decrease in the Shared and idle (SHR+IDL) scenario where the assignment of parcels to idle vehicles is unrestricted
Summary
The rapid growth of e-commerce deliveries over the last decade is bringing about changes to the freight transportation sector. 4% of the total retail sales in 2010, rising to 11.8% in 2020 [1] and the rate of e-commerce adoption increased during the COVID-19 pandemic [2] with a potential lasting effect. Transportation modes that serve trips performed by individuals often have spare capacity, which can be used for freight. This concept is referred to by various terms, including cargo hitching [5,6], combined people-and-freight systems [7], and short-haul integration [8]. Examples of cargo hitching include using the spare capacity of public transportation, such as rail and bus, for replenishing the inventories of retail stores and using taxis or mobility-on-demand services to transport freight/parcels [8]. Its crux is the use of occasional carriers with spare capacity to perform some task (e.g., freight pickups/deliveries), or in other words, it involves outsourcing tasks originally performed by a company to a large pool of individuals [7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
