Christian Ambrosini

Objectives, Methods and Results of Surveys Carried out in the Field of Urban Freight Transport: An International Comparison

In industrialized countries, the number of studies and surveys in the field of urban goods movement (UGM) has increased considerably over recent years. This paper compares the objectives, methods and results in this sector and focuses on nine industrialized countries of Europe, America and Asia. This non‐extensive review shows that in spite of different framework methods and models, similar trends emerge at the economic and environmental levels. It is necessary to take into account urban logistics in the broadest meaning of the term. Cooperative action seems to bear fruit providing that information and dialogue take place in the long‐term with all the operators involved. The development of intelligent transport systems (ITS) and better management of urban facilities may improve these attempts. We present our viewpoint in order to shed light on research oriented towards the sustainable management of urban logistics.

A simulation framework for evaluating the impacts of urban goods transport in terms of road occupancy

Abstract This paper proposes a novel approach in order to simulate the impacts of urban goods transport on road occupancy. It combines both inter-establishments flows and households’ motorized shopping trips, as well as B2C flows. After a general description of the method resulting in an estimation of the movements, an actual example is implemented (city of Lyon, in France). Four scenarios are described and simulated, and then their results are compared. These results are promising and they take into account a large variety of flows (about 90% of the urban goods movement flows according to the classification of Patier, 2002).

The Environmental Assessment of Urban Goods Movement

This paper presents the implementation of a thorough physical environmental assessment of urban goods movement (UGM). It is aimed at local decision makers concerned with sustainable development issues in urban planning. After a description of the new stakes for urban planners, the paper specifies the data processing method and the sequence of the models used as well as the results in three French cities: Bordeaux (750,000 population), Dijon (240,000 population) and Marseilles (1,050,000 population).

Estimated Data Production for Urban Goods Transport Diagnosis

Nowadays, it is crucial to obtain sound data for establishing diagnoses of urban goods movements (UGM). Since surveys are usually difficult to implement and become very expensive when large amounts of detailed data are required, they are not systematically carried out in various cities around the world. Moreover, unlike individual mobility, public authorities generally do not supervise urban goods transport as they depend essentially on the private sector. The research proposed here focuses on a framework for simulating data production using standard inputs that can be obtained by public authorities (and private stakeholders), in order to estimate the impacts of urban goods transport in the light of current practices, i.e. to make a diagnosis of urban logistics in current configurations. The joint process of collecting data and modelling is described after which the different modules and applications are presented.

Data Collection for Understanding Urban Goods Movement

This chapter addresses the topic of urban freight data collection. Survey work was carried out with experts in eleven European countries to describe and compare urban freight transport data collection efforts to better understand what currently takes place and to identify examples of good practice. The extent of urban freight data collection varies significantly between the European countries surveyed. Much of the existing urban freight data comes from the disaggregation of national survey results. The chapter identifies the most commonly identified gaps in data collection, as well as the need for greater standardisation in data collection methods and in analysis and reporting of this data.