Tom van Lier

Transport of Goods to and from the Center of Brussels: Using the Port to Improve Sustainability

City distribution plays a key role in supporting urban lifestyles, helping to serve and retain industrial and trading activities, and contributing to the competitiveness of regional industry. Despite these positive effects, it also generates negative (economic, environmental and social) impacts on cities worldwide. Relatively little attention has been paid to these issues by researchers and policymakers until recently. The analyses found in City Distribution and Urban Freight Transport aim to improve knowledge in this important area by recognizing and evaluating the problems, with a focus on urban freight transport systems.

Effect of the shape of the exposure-response function on estimated hospital costs in a study on non-elective pneumonia hospitalizations related to particulate matter.

OBJECTIVE We used log-linear and log-log exposure-response (E-R) functions to model the association between PM2.5 exposure and non-elective hospitalizations for pneumonia, and estimated the attributable hospital costs by using the effect estimates obtained from both functions. METHODS We used hospital discharge data on 3519 non-elective pneumonia admissions from UZ Brussels between 2007 and 2012 and we combined a case-crossover design with distributed lag models. The annual averted pneumonia hospitalization costs for a reduction in PM2.5 exposure from the mean (21.4μg/m(3)) to the WHO guideline for annual mean PM2.5 (10μg/m(3)) were estimated and extrapolated for Belgium. RESULTS Non-elective hospitalizations for pneumonia were significantly associated with PM2.5 exposure in both models. Using a log-linear E-R function, the estimated risk reduction for pneumonia hospitalization associated with a decrease in mean PM2.5 exposure to 10μg/m(3) was 4.9%. The corresponding estimate for the log-log model was 10.7%. These estimates translate to an annual pneumonia hospital cost saving in Belgium of €15.5 million and almost €34 million for the log-linear and log-log E-R function, respectively. DISCUSSION Although further research is required to assess the shape of the association between PM2.5 exposure and pneumonia hospitalizations, we demonstrated that estimates for health effects and associated costs heavily depend on the assumed E-R function. These results are important for policy making, as supra-linear E-R associations imply that significant health benefits may still be obtained from additional pollution control measures in areas where PM levels have already been reduced.

The 4 A’s of Sustainable Logistics

Mobility and logistics activities have been fundamental to economic development and social well-being for centuries, but it is only over the past 50 years that this has received interest as a major field of academic study and as a key determinant of, for example, business performance. In the last decades, the evolution towards globalisation and the opportunities presented by technological innovation have greatly increased the importance of mobility and logistics worldwide. Nevertheless, the growing environmental concern of citizens and governments and the widespread introduction of the concept of sustainability have simultaneously placed increasing pressure on public and private activities to take all effects related to such activities into account. Logistics, and especially freight transport representing its most physical component, has accordingly received much attention in the sustainability debate in recent years, due to the numerous external effects and the widespread effects on virtually all individuals. This has forced stakeholders involved in logistics processes to address the issue of sustainability, leading to the birth of terms combining adjectives such as sustainable, ecological, green, clean and lean with domain specific nouns such as supply chain management, logistics, freight transport and urban freight. Some specific terms such as logistics shades of green have also been introduced.

Assessing the social relevance of school transport in Flanders (Belgium)

Purpose - – The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the social relevance of school transport in Flanders, Belgium, by using a social cost-benefit analysis (SCBA). Design/methodology/approach - – The use of a SCBA already showed to be an appropriate tool for the appraisal of transport projects as it generates a large amount of information on the investment and its return for society. Findings - – This paper clearly shows that organizing school transport is socially relevant, using a SCBA as a tool for evaluation. The analysis also provides insight in potential ways for improving school transport organization and financing and allows assessing whether further gains for society are possible. It reveals that the budget granted for the obligatory organization of school transport is not sufficient and that schools are generally forced to use part of their educational budget to be able to organize the (socially relevant) school transport. Practical implications - – Findings from this study can assist schools and organizers of school transport in improving their organization. It demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of the investment. Originality/value - – Not many socio-economic evaluations of school transport have been done in literature. This study supports the use of SCBA within this context, further developing its use to answer similar research questions.

An indicator approach to sustainable urban freight transport

Abstract Several indicators have been established to monitor and evaluate the sustainability of cities. Logistics and related transportation activities are underrepresented in these established frameworks despite the substantial negative impact of urban freight transport (UFT) on the environment, society and economy. The result is the lack of an understanding of freight flows’ impact on the liveability of cities. This paper fills this gap by introducing a comprehensive set of freight transport related indicators with an operational target in policy support and urban planning. It provides a discussion of its hierarchical design and 45 indicators. Using this indicator set, local authorities can assess and enhance UFT sustainability.

Loading Unit in Freight Transport Modelling

Freight transport flows are generating high number of vehicle movements. Modelling freight flows gives consequently crucial information for both public and private decision makers. Generally freight transport models consider flows by commodity type between meso-level traffic analysis zones. Only a few models are taking into account loading units, as they make the difference between containers and general cargo. There is, however, a huge variety within the general cargo category. Pallets, liquid bulk, solid bulk and others have different characteristics in terms of volumes, inventory costs, transshipment costs, et cetera. Considering those issues is new and primordial contribution in the evolution of freight transport modelling towards more disaggregated agent-based systems. Nine different types of loading units are together with ten commodity types integrated in an agent-based freight transport model for Belgium which is currently under development.

Transport: Addicted to Oil

Transport fulfils a crucial role for both economic and social development, since it enables people and goods to move from one place to another. Globalization and technological innovation have led to a drastic increase in national and international freight and passenger transport and consequently also in transport-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this chapter, we first discuss the historical developments in transport in the EU, the sector’s potential role in decarbonization and the current EU policies with regard to decarbonization in the transport sector. Second, we identify a number of policy gaps, since current policies are most likely insufficient to achieve the targeted decarbonization in the transport sector by 2050. Third, we analyse the drivers and barriers to achieving the transport-sector reduction targets focusing on functional overlap, political will, societal backing and institutional set-up.

Variations in hospital costs after traffic injuries: The importance of sociodemographic aspects and comorbidities.

OBJECTIVE The impact of sociodemographic aspects and comorbidities on the inpatient hospital care costs of traffic victims are not clear. The main goal of this study is to provide insights into the sociodemographic characteristics and clinical conditions (including comorbidities) of the victims that result in higher hospital costs. PARTICIPANTS For the period 2009-2011, people admitted to a hospital as a result of a road traffic crash (N=64,304) were identified in the national Minimal Hospital Dataset, after which they were linked to their respective claims data from the sickness funds. METHODS A generalized linear model was used to analyse hospital costs controlling for roadway user categories, demographics (gender, age, individual socioeconomic status (SES)), and clinical factors (the nature, location, and severity of injury, and comorbidities). RESULTS The median hospital cost was € 2801 (IQR € 1510-€ 7175, 2015 Euros). There was no significant difference between gender. Low SES inpatients incurred 16% (95% CI: 14%-18%) higher hospital costs than inpatients of high SES. The presence of comorbidities was associated with an increased hospital cost, however with varying magnitude. For example traffic victims suffering from dementia incur significantly higher hospital costs than those who were not (49% higher, 95% CI: 44%-53%), whereas diabetes was associated with a smaller increase in costs compared to non-diabetics (13%, 95% CI: 10%-16%). CONCLUSION Comorbidities and low SES are associated with higher hospital costs for traffic victims, notwithstanding their age, and the nature and the severity of their injury. The broad variability of hospital costs among trauma inpatients should be accounted for when reconsidering financing models. Furthermore, the strong predictive value of some comorbidities and SES on hospital costs should be considered when projections of future health care utilisation in traffic safety scenarios are prepared.