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Urban Freight Lab

Research Topic: Bicycle Research: Cargo Bikes and Bike-Truck Interactions

Cargo e-bikes are two-, three-, or four-wheeled vehicles with cargo-carrying capacity. Since they are human-powered and often have an electric pedal assist, they are an alternative mode of delivering goods in dense urban areas. They present several advantages over the traditional modes of urban freight: they are more agile in navigating traffic, they occupy less space, and can potentially park anywhere. However, previous studies and pilots showed mixed results. The Urban Freight Lab has been collecting and analyzing data from cargo bike pilot studies and simulations to address questions on their operational efficiency, sustainability, and safety.

Bike-truck conflicts are interactions between a bicyclist and another road user such that at least one of the parties must change direction or speed to avoid collisions.

Boston Delivers Cargo Bike Pilot Evaluation

Background and Overview

Boston Delivers is a pilot project that promoted sustainable methods of making neighborhood deliveries for local businesses in Allston, Brighton, and the surrounding area. Instead of motor vehicles, packages were delivered by electric cargo bikes. The Boston Transportation Department (BTD) partnered with Net Zero Logistics (Net Zero) to carry out this delivery service. Net Zero Logistics provided electric cargo bikes, made deliveries, and coordinated delivery logistics. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) funded the pilot through their Accelerating Clean Transportation for All (ACT4All) Program. The pilot intended to test the policy implications of using right-sized delivery vehicles in urban environments, generate societal co-benefits from an efficient and sustainable mode for goods movement, and share learnings with a broad audience.

The city outlined four core goals as follows:

  1. Support Local Businesses,
  2. Reduce Urban Congestion,
  3. Improve Street Safety, and
  4. Reduce Pollution

Furthermore, the city created five learning objectives for the pilot program, as follows:

  1. Identify the policies, programs, and regulations that need to change to allow for ecargo bike delivery in the City of Boston;
  2. Test infrastructure changes needed to accommodate e-cargo bike delivery, including but not limited to e-cargo bike delivery zones, staging and sorting areas, parcel lockers, and other last-mile logistical needs;
  3. Measure the benefits of e-cargo bike delivery, including its impact on environmental, safety, and economic metrics;
  4. Understand the costs and feasibility of e-cargo bike delivery for different types of businesses;
  5. Share findings on e-cargo bike delivery and communicate to delivery service providers that the City of Boston is ready for e-cargo bikes to be used on a larger scale.

The 18-month pilot began in September 2023 and concluded in February 2025. The Boston team successfully recruited a logistics partner (Net Zero), onboarded and launched a new delivery service, and completed thousands of deliveries on behalf of underserved populations during the pilot period.

Between September 2023 and January 2025, 18,375 deliveries were made (approximately 20,000 units) with an estimated total of 5,881 cargo bicycle miles traveled and an estimated savings of 2,352.5 – 3,193.5 of kg CO2e (carbon emissions) avoided. By replacing larger vehicle trips, these outcomes directly contributed to the City’s goals of reducing neighborhood congestion and the chances for serious crashes, improving air quality through less tailpipe pollution, and showcasing new delivery methods that could benefit local businesses.

The pilot demonstrated that e-bike deliveries could be a feasible alternative to cars for specific delivery scenarios. Critically, Boston created a strong pilot framework that referenced big picture agency goals but focused on measurable pilot learning objectives. This approach allowed for a flexible and adaptive approach during pilot design and implementation, which made the pilot all the more successful. With an adaptive approach, the city was able to uncover important key learnings for future pilots.

While the critical elements of the pilot were achieved (launching a cargo bike operator, performing thousands of deliveries, and focusing on an underserved neighborhood), key learnings for future sustainable delivery programs from the pilot included:

  • Flexibility in pilot design and implementation is critical during the execution of any pilot program and especially when working in close partnership with multiple organizations and companies.
  • There is a need to coordinate and potentially partner with anchor clients or partners with significant volume ahead of launching a sustainable delivery program.
  • For pilots or programs that require space for staging, identifying location(s) for these activities, and ensuring they can be launched expediently and permitted in a timely manner, is critical for success.
  • When choosing a pilot geography, the use cases for e-bikes for last mile delivery should be evaluated in terms of existing neighborhood density, ease or lack thereof in making deliveries by large van or truck, and whether the neighborhood already has significant numbers of bike deliveries and a robust cycling culture.
  • Organizers should understand the economics of programs that involve multiple nongovernmental and private sector organizations, including the significant start up (capital) costs required, and the importance of achieving economies of scale in delivery volume to ensure long-term financial health of a program.
  • Broader citywide goals and policies around safety, congestion relief, and decarbonization can help center urban delivery goals in broader contexts (potentially allowing for additional funding, programmatic support, communication, better unit economics, etc.).

Overall, the goal of this pilot evaluation is to reflect on the City of Boston’s pilot experience and provide transparency about these learnings to a wide audience. We hope that the information below will provide real value for future City of Boston initiatives, delivery service providers and vendors, and cities nationwide as they continue to focus on ways to unlock greater efficiency in urban deliveries and realize a wide array of societal benefits.

Scope of Work

  1. Support design of pilot evaluation plan
    • Provide feedback on an evaluation approach/framework, metrics, methodology, and data collection strategies.
    • Deliverables: Written pilot evaluation plan, additional comments and participate in 1-2 meetings.
  2. Gather and perform data analysis
    • Depending on availability and quality of data obtained, data will be processed to compute operational performance metrics as defined in Task 1 (e.g total VMT, deliveries per hour, etc). The UFL will work with NetZero Logistics to obtain data on deliveries performed over the study period.
    • Incorporate available qualitative data. UFL to conduct interviews with NetZero Logistics and at least 3 participating businesses.
    • Deliverables: Analyze data collected by the City of Boston.
  3. Report write-up
    • UFL to summarize methodology and findings in report format in collaboration with Boston including key learnings, challenges, and future opportunities.
    • UFL to provide outline and final content, while Boston will collaborate on graphics and layout for the final deliverable.
    • Deliverables: Final report content including analysis with 1 major review cycle.
Paper

Evaluation of Bicyclist Physiological Response and Visual Attention in Commercial Vehicle Loading Zones

 
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URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2023.11.018
Publication: Journal of Safety Research
Publication Date: 2023
Summary:

With growing freight operations throughout the world, there is a push for transportation systems to accommodate trucks during loading and unloading operations. Currently, many urban locations do not provide loading and unloading zones, which results in trucks parking in places that obstruct bicyclist’s roadway infrastructure (e.g., bicycle lanes).

Method
To understand the implications of these truck operations, a bicycle simulation experiment was designed to evaluate the impact of commercial vehicle loading and unloading activities on safe and efficient bicycle operations in a shared urban roadway environment. A fully counterbalanced, partially randomized, factorial design was chosen to explore three independent variables: commercial vehicle loading zone (CVLZ) sizes with three levels (i.e., no CVLZ, Min CVLZ, and Max CVLZ), courier position with three levels (i.e., no courier, behind the truck, beside the truck), and with and without loading accessories. Bicyclist’s physiological response and eye tracking were used as performance measures. Data were obtained from 48 participants, resulting in 864 observations in 18 experimental scenarios using linear mixed-effects models (LMM).

Results
Results from the LMMs suggest that loading zone size and courier position had the greatest effect on bicyclist’s physiological responses. Bicyclists had approximately two peaks-per-minute higher when riding in the condition that included no CVLZ and courier on the side compared to the base conditions (i.e., Max CVLZ and no courier). Additionally, when the courier was beside the truck, bicyclist’s eye fixation durations (sec) were one (s) greater than when the courier was located behind the truck, indicating that bicyclists were more alert as they passed by the courier. The presence of accessories had the lowest influence on both bicyclists’ physiological response and eye tracking measures.

Practical Applications
These findings could support better roadway and CVLZ design guidelines, which will allow our urban street system to operate more efficiently, safely, and reliable for all users.

Authors: Dr. Ed McCormackDr. Anne Goodchild, Hisham Jashami, Douglas Cobb, Ivan Sinkus, Yujun Liu, David Hurwitz
Recommended Citation:
Jashami, Hisham, Douglas Cobb, Ivan Sinkus, Yujun Liu, Edward McCormack, Anne Goodchild, and David Hurwitz. “Evaluation of Bicyclist Physiological Response and Visual Attention in Commercial Vehicle Loading Zones.” Journal of Safety Research. Elsevier BV, December 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2023.11.018
Paper

Seattle Microhub Delivery Pilot: Evaluating Emission Impacts and Stakeholder Engagement

 
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URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2023.101119
Publication: Case Studies on Transport Policy
Publication Date: 2023
Summary:

Urban freight deliveries using microhubs and e-cargo cycles have been gaining attention in cities suffering from congestion and emissions. E-cargo cycle deliveries and microhubs used as transshipment points in urban cores can replace trucks to make cities more livable. This study describes and empirically evaluates an e-cargo tricycle pilot conducted with multi-sector stakeholders in Seattle to report the potential benefits and pitfalls of such practices. The pilot held stakeholder workshop sessions to collect inputs of interest and expectations from the project. Mobile devices used by drivers on e-cargo tricycle and cargo van routes collected delivery data to use for empirical assessment. Total vehicle miles traveled and tailpipe carbon emissions served as performance metrics when comparing e-cargo tricycle and cargo van deliveries. The results showed the net-benefit of the microhub and e-cargo tricycle routes depend on the upstream operations when replenishing packages.

The participatory approach to pilot design also provided insights into the factors of a successful pilot, with implications for scaling future e-cargo cycle delivery systems in North American cities. Namely, microhubs’ ability to host alternative revenue sources and value-added services is a boon for long-term financial competitiveness. However, lack of digital/physical infrastructure and work training/regulations specific to e-cargo cycle delivery operations present a barrier.

Authors: Şeyma GüneşTravis FriedDr. Anne Goodchild
Recommended Citation:
Gunes, Seyma, Travis Fried, and Anne Goodchild. “Seattle Microhub Delivery Pilot: Evaluating Emission Impacts and Stakeholder Engagement.” Case Studies on Transport Policy. Elsevier BV, November 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2023.101119.
Blog

What Policies Would Speed Cargo Bike Adoption in U.S. Cities? Urban Freight Lab Members Weigh In.

URL: https://www.goodsmovement2030.com/post/cargo-bike-adoption
Publication: Goods Movement 2030: An Urban Freight Blog
Publication Date: 2023
Summary:

It becomes easier to understand the barriers to scaling up cargo bikes for last-mile delivery when you hear Mark Chiusano, Owner/CEO of Cornucopia Logistics and affiliates, talk about the complexity of operations in New York City. Cornucopia works with Amazon (both companies are Urban Freight Lab members) to run a fleet of more than 100 cargo bikes making thousands of weekly deliveries for Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods locations in Manhattan. (Amazon owns Whole Foods.)

Pricey Midtown Manhattan space is leased in a private parking garage across from an Amazon warehouse to store the bike and trailer fleet. But fire prevention and other safety rules prevent the bikes from being charged there, so bike batteries have to be transported to a separate charging station, then back to the Midtown garage. And other rules — both federal and state — wind up limiting the models of cargo bikes that can be used and how they can be used. The bike fleet requires constant maintenance, yet vendors that supply skilled commercial e-bike mechanics are still few and far between. While bikes don’t require a commercial driver’s license to operate (unlike vans or trucks), wages for bikers must compete with those of van/truck drivers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the cost per delivery can be higher with cargo bikes than with a traditional van.

These are among the challenges of trying to scale cargo bikes for last-mile delivery in the U.S. — a key discussion at the spring meeting of the Urban Freight Lab, held in New York City. We talked a lot about potential policy solutions to surmount such challenges, too, given the growing focus on building a net-zero future. And we shared research, emerging pilots and expertise from both the public and private sectors.

To tease out possible paths to scale, members weighed in on the feasibility and effectiveness of six strategies for overcoming roadblocks in this blog post.

Authors: Urban Freight Lab
Recommended Citation:
“What Policies Would Speed Cargo Bike Adoption in U.S. Cities? Urban Freight Lab Members Weigh In.” Goods Movement 2030 (blog). Urban Freight Lab, July 20, 2023. https://www.goodsmovement2030.com/post/cargo-bike-adoption.
White Paper

Biking the Goods: How North American Cities Can Prepare for and Promote Large-Scale Adoption of E-Cargo Bikes

 
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URL: https://doi.org/10.6069/REXD-W642
Publication Date: 2023
Summary:

The distribution of goods and services in North American cities has conventionally relied on diesel-powered internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Recent developments in electromobility have provided an opportunity to reduce some of the negative externalities generated by urban logistics systems.

Cargo e-bikes — electric cycles specially designed for cargo transportation — represent an alternative environmentally friendly and safer mode for delivering goods and services in urban areas. However, lack of infrastructure, legal uncertainties, and a cultural and economic attachment to motorized vehicles has hindered their adoption. Cities play a crucial role in reducing these barriers and creating a leveled playing field where cargo e-bikes can be essential to urban logistics systems.

This paper aims to inform urban planners about what cargo e-bikes are, how they have been successfully deployed in North America to replace ICE vehicles, and identify actionable strategies cities can take to encourage their adoption while guaranteeing safety for all road users.

Gathering data and opinions from key public and private sector stakeholders and building on the expertise of the Urban Freight Lab, this paper identifies nine recommendations and 21 actions for urban planners across the following four main thematic areas:

  1. Infrastructure: cycling, parking infrastructure, and urban logistics hubs
  2. Policy and Regulation: e-bike law, safety regulation, and policies de-prioritizing vehicles
  3. Incentives: rebates and business subsidies
  4. Culture and Education: labor force training, educational programs, and community-driven adoption

Acknowledgements

The Urban Freight Lab acknowledges the following co-sponsors for financially supporting this research: Bosch eBike Systems, Fleet Cycles, Gazelle USA, Michelin North America, Inc., Net Zero Logistics, Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium (PacTrans) Region 10, Seattle Department of Transportation, and Urban Arrow.

Technical contributions and guidance: Amazon, B-Line (Franklin Jones), Cascade Bicycle Club, Coaster Cycles, City of Boston, City of Portland, Downtown Seattle Business Association (Steve Walls), New York City Department of Transportation, People for Bikes (Ash Lovell), Portland Bureau of Transportation, University of Washington Mailing Services (Douglas Stevens), UPS,

Authors: Dr. Giacomo Dalla ChiaraRishi VermaKelly RulaDr. Anne Goodchild
Recommended Citation:
Dalla Chiara, G., Verma, R., Rula, K., Goodchild, A. (2023). Biking the Goods: How North American Cities Can Prepare for and Promote Large-Scale Adoption of Cargo e-Bikes. Urban Freight Lab, University of Washington.
Presentation

Exploring the Sustainability Potential of Urban Delivery Microhubs and Cargo Bike Deliveries

 
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URL: https://metrans.org/inuf_2022-papers_presentations
Publication: 9th International Urban Freight Conference, Long Beach, May 2022
Publication Date: 2022
Summary:

Micro-consolidation implementations and pairing with soft transportation modes offer practical, economic, environmental, and cultural benefits. Early implementations of micro consolidation practices were tested but cities need to understand their implications in terms of efficiency and sustainability.

This study includes a research scan and proposes a typology of micro-consolidation practices. It focuses on assessing the performance of microhubs that act as additional transshipment points where the packages are transported by trucks and transferred onto e-bikes to complete the last mile.

The purpose of the study is to assess the performance of delivery operations using a network of microhubs with cargo logistics and identify the conditions under which these solutions can be successfully implemented to improve urban freight efficiencies and reduce emissions. The performance is evaluated in terms of vehicle miles traveled, tailpipe CO2 emissions, and average operating cost per package using simulation tools.

Authors: Şeyma GüneşDr. Anne Goodchild
Recommended Citation:
Şeyma Güneş and Anne Goodchild (2022). Exploring the Sustainability Potential of Urban Delivery Microhubs and Cargo Bike Deliveries. 9th International Urban Freight Conference (INUF), Long Beach, CA May 2022.
Student Thesis and Dissertations

Micro-Consolidation Practices in Urban Delivery Systems: Comparative Evaluation of Last Mile Deliveries Using e-Cargo Bikes and Microhubs

 
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URL: https://www.proquest.com/docview/2595035025
Publication Date: 2021
Summary:

The demand for home deliveries has seen a drastic increase, especially in cities, putting urban freight systems under pressure. As more people move to urban areas and change consumer behaviors to shop online, busy delivery operations cause externalities such as congestion and air pollution.

Micro-consolidation implementations and their possible pairing with soft transportation modes offer practical, economic, environmental, and cultural benefits. Early implementations of micro-consolidation practices were tested but cities need to understand their implications in terms of efficiency and sustainability.

This study includes a research scan and proposes a typology of micro-consolidation practices. It focuses on assessing the performance of microhubs that act as additional transshipment points where the packages are transported by trucks and transferred onto e-bikes to complete the last mile.

The purpose of the study is to assess the performance of delivery operations using a network of microhubs with cargo logistics and identify the conditions under which these solutions can be successfully implemented to improve urban freight efficiencies and reduce emissions. The performance is evaluated in terms of vehicle miles traveled, tailpipe CO2 emissions, and average operating cost per package using simulation tools. Three different delivery scenarios were tested that represents 1) the baseline scenario, where only vans and cars make deliveries; 2) the mixed scenario, where in addition to vans and cars, a portion of packages are delivered by e-bikes; and 3) the e-bike only scenario, where all package demand is satisfied using microhubs and e-bikes.

The results showed that e-bike delivery operations perform the best in service areas with high customer density. At the highest customer demand level, e-bikes traveled 7.7% less to deliver a package and emitted 91% less tailpipe CO2 with no significant cost benefits or losses when compared with the baseline scenario where only traditional delivery vehicles were used. Cargo logistics, when implemented in areas where the demand is densified, can reduce emissions and congestion without significant cost implications.

Authors: Şeyma Güneş
Recommended Citation:
Gunes, S. (2021). Micro-Consolidation Practices in Urban Delivery Systems: Comparative Evaluation of Last Mile Deliveries Using e-Cargo Bikes and Microhubs, University of Washington Master's Thesis.
Paper

The Impact of Commercial Parking Utilization on Cyclist Behavior in Urban Environments

 
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URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2020.07.014
Publication: Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour
Volume: 74
Pages: 67-80
Publication Date: 2020
Summary:

With growing freight operations within the United States, there continues to be a push for urban streets to accommodate trucks during loading and unloading operations. Currently, many urban locations do not provide loading and unloading zones, which results in trucks parking in places that can obstruct roadway infrastructure designated to vulnerable road users (e.g., pedestrians and cyclists). In an effort to understand the implications of these truck operations, a bicycle simulation experiment was designed to evaluate the impact of commercial vehicle loading and unloading activities on safe and efficient bicycle operations in a shared urban roadway environment. A counter-balanced, factorial design was chosen to explore three independent variables: commercial vehicle loading zone (CVLZ) sizes with three levels (no CVLZ, Min CVLZ, and Max CVLZ), courier position with also three levels (No courier, behind the truck, beside the truck), and loading accessories (Acc) with two levels (no Acc, and with Acc). Cyclist’s velocity and lateral position were used as performance measures. Data were obtained from 48 participants (24 women) resulting in 864 observations in 18 experimental scenarios. Linear Mixed-Effects Models (LMM) were developed to examine the effect of each independent variable level on bicyclist performance.

Results from LMM model suggest that loading zone size had the greatest effect on cyclist’s divergence. Additionally, when the courier was walking beside the truck, cyclist’s velocity significantly dropped to almost one m/sec in compared when the courier located behind the truck. The presence of accessories had the lowest influence on both velocity and lateral positions of cyclists. In the no CVLZ scenarios, the delivery vehicle was parked at the bike lane, therefore; cyclists had to choose between using the travel lane or the sidewalk. About one-third of participants decided to use the sidewalk. These findings could support better roadway and CVLZ design guidelines, which will allow our urban street system to operate more efficiently, safely, and reliably for all users.

Authors: Dr. Anne GoodchildManali ShethDr. Ed McCormack, Hisham Jashami, Douglas Cobb, David S. Hurtwitz
Report

Cargo E-Bike Delivery Pilot Test in Seattle

 
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Publication Date: 2020
Summary:

This study performed an empirical analysis to evaluate the implementation of a cargo e-bike delivery system pilot tested by the United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) in Seattle, Washington. During the pilot, a cargo e-bike with a removable cargo container was used to perform last-mile deliveries in downtown Seattle. Cargo containers were pre-loaded daily at the UPS Seattle depot and loaded onto a trailer, which was then carried to a parking lot in downtown.

Data were obtained for two study phases. In the “before-pilot” phase, data were obtained from truck routes that operated in the same areas where the cargo e-bike was proposed to operate. In the “pilot” phase, data were obtained from the cargo e-bike route and from the truck routes that simultaneously delivered in the same neighborhoods. Data were subsequently analyzed to assess the performance of the cargo e-bike system versus the traditional truck-only delivery system.

The study first analyzed data from the before-pilot phase to characterize truck delivery activity. Analysis focused on three metrics: time spent cruising for parking, delivery distance, and dwell time. The following findings were reported:

  • On average, a truck driver spent about 2 minutes cruising for parking for each delivery trip, which represented 28 percent of total trip time. On average, a driver spent about 50 minutes a day cruising for parking.
  • Most of the deliveries performed were about 30 meters (98 feet) from the vehicle stop location, which is less than the length of an average blockface in downtown Seattle (100 meters, 328 feet). Only 10 percent of deliveries were more 100 meters away from the vehicle stop location.
  • Most truck dwell times were around 5 minutes. However, the dwell time distribution was right-skewed, with a median dwell time of 17.5 minutes.

Three other metrics were evaluated for both the before-pilot and the pilot study phases: delivery area, number of delivery locations, and number of packages delivered and failed first delivery rate. The following results were obtained:

  • A comparison of the delivery areas of the trucks and the cargo e-bike before and after the pilot showed that the trucks and cargo e-bike delivered approximately in the same geographic areas, with no significant changes in the trucks’ delivery areas before and during the pilot.
  • The number of establishments the cargo e-bike delivered to in a single tour during the pilot phase was found to be 31 percent of the number of delivery locations visited, on average, by a truck in a single tour during the before-pilot phase, and 28 percent during the pilot phase.
  • During the pilot, the cargo e-bike delivered on average to five establishments per hour, representing 30 percent of the establishments visited per hour by a truck in the before-pilot phase and 25 percent during the pilot.
  • During the pilot, the number of establishments the cargo e-bike delivered to increased over time, suggesting a potential for improvement in the efficiency of the cargo e-bike.
  • The cargo e-bike delivered 24 percent of the number of packages delivered by a truck during a single tour, on average, before the pilot and 20 percent during the pilot.
  • Both before and during the pilot the delivery failed rate (percentage of packages that were not delivered throughout the day) was approximately 0.8 percent. The cargo e-bike experienced a statistically significantly lower failed rate of 0.5 percent with respect to the truck fail rate, with most tours experiencing no failed first deliveries.

The above reported empirical results should be interpreted only in the light of the data obtained. Moreover, some of the results are affected by the fact that the pilot coincided with the holiday season, in which above average demand was experienced. Moreover, because the pilot lasted only one month, not enough time was given for the system to run at “full-speed.”

Authors: Urban Freight Lab
Recommended Citation:
Urban Freight Lab (2020). Cargo E-Bike Delivery Pilot Test in Seattle.
Paper

Exploring Benefits of Cargo-Cycles Versus Trucks for Urban Parcel Delivery Under Different Demand Scenarios

 
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URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198120917162
Publication: Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
Publication Date: 2020
Summary:

Urban deliveries are traditionally carried out with vans or trucks. These vehicles tend to face parking difficulties in dense urban areas, leading to traffic congestion. Smaller and nimbler vehicles by design, such as cargo-cycles, struggle to compete in distance range and carrying capacity. However, a system of cargo-cycles complemented with strategically located cargo-storing hubs can overcome some limitations of the cargo-cycles. Past research provides a limited perspective on how demand characteristics and parking conditions in urban areas are related to potential benefits of this system. To fill this gap, we propose a model to simulate the performance of different operational scenarios—a truck-only scenario and a cargo-cycle with mobile hubs scenario—under different delivery demand and parking conditions. We apply the model to a case study using data synthesized from observed freight-carrier demand in Singapore. The exploration of alternative demand scenarios informs how demand characteristics influence the viability of the solution. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis clarifies the contributing factors to the demonstrated results. The combination of cargo-cycles and hubs can achieve progressive reductions in kilometers-traveled and hours-traveled up to around densities of 150 deliveries/km ² , beyond which savings taper off. Whereas the reduction in kilometers-traveled is influenced by the the carrying capacity of the cargo-cycle, the reduction in hours-traveled is related to to the cargo-cycle ability to effectively decrease the parking dwell time by reducing, for instance, the time spent searching for parking and the time spent walking to a delivery destination.

Authors: Dr. Giacomo Dalla Chiara, André Romano Alho, Cheng Cheng, Moshe Ben-Akiva, Lynette Cheah
Recommended Citation:
Dalla Chiara, Giacomo and Alho, André Romano and Cheng Cheng, Moshe Ben-Akiva and Cheah, Lynette. “Exploring Benefits of Cargo-Cycles versus Trucks for Urban Parcel Delivery under Different Demand Scenarios.” Transportation Research Record, (May 2020). doi:10.1177/0361198120917162.