Towards Sustainable Urban Logistics: Creating Sustainable Urban Freight Transport on the Example of a Limited Accessibility Zone in Gdansk

Maria Matusiewicz

doi:10.3390/su11143879

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to identify the conditions for the implementation of deliveries in the Limited Accessibility Zone (LAZ) in Gdansk, based on interviews conducted among suppliers in October 2018. Another goal is to identify guidelines for the need to create a new transport policy for cities, which will be in line with sustainable urban logistics. The presented analysis is not an economic or technical analysis of an executive nature. It focuses on indicating the nature of the impact of factors conditioning further actions related to the discussed area. To define a sustainable urban logistics plan road map, the desk research method was used. It involved analyzing, verifying and merging existing data and information from the results of European projects. The paper can be used as a road map to proceed with planning urban logistics in the city and to create a document of Sustainable Urban Logistics Plan (SULP). This is the first study carried out in the LAZ of Gdansk since its introduction in 2014, therefore conclusions can be used by scientists and the creators of urban transport policy to create limited accessibility zones.

Highlights

In the Crowdsourced Delivery Report from Business Insider Intelligence of 2018, the cost of delivery includes collection share—4%, sorting—6%, line haul—37% and last mile delivery—53% [1]
In order to make Gdansk more habitable and safe, city authorities have attempted to reach the 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions called for by the Commission’s White Paper on Transport by creating a sort of Limited Emission Zone (LEZ) and introducing Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans that define the need to create a Sustainable Urban Logistics Plan
The purpose of the article is to identify the conditions for the implementation of deliveries in the Limited Accessibility Zone (LAZ) in Gdansk, based on interviews conducted among suppliers in October 2018

Summary

Introduction

In the Crowdsourced Delivery Report from Business Insider Intelligence of 2018, the cost of delivery includes collection share—4%, sorting—6%, line haul—37% and last mile delivery—53% [1] Last mile constitutes such a large share of the costs as it is the most time-consuming and, at the same time, the most sophisticated part of the delivery process. Whereas in rural areas deliveries are more effective, cities are obstructed by road congestion, multiple narrow streets and lack of parking space. These problems are intensified by the continuous growth of e-commerce in retail, which significantly increases the number of shipments delivered each day. Delivery companies usually already have their deliveries optimized in terms of routes and storage locations, so the costs need to be optimized elsewhere

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Conclusion