Options for increasing transport efficiency in urban freight distribution: do more with less

Other conference contribution, 2009

This paper seeks to provide a set of structured measures for transport efficiency improvements from the perspective of the road haulier, particularly regarding improvements suitable for urban distribution and their effects, and stressing the need for the road hauliers to cooperate with other actors. The first part of the paper briefly recapitulates some of the literature within the area of transport efficiency. The second part presents potential transport efficiency improvements with respect to environmental and logistics impact. In the third section a summary of these efficiency measures is presented in a matrix, taking into account whether these measures can be seen as costs or benefits for the actors involved. The results show ambiguous and intricate relations with regards to costs and benefits for the actors in the system and could possibly explain some of the resistance to change within the freight industry. However, an increasing amount of transport operators are now offering more sustainable transport solutions, even at a lower price than ordinary deliveries, and this service might gain them a competi-tive advantage in the future.