A Simulation-Based Evaluation of a Cargo-Hitching Service for E-Commerce Using Mobility-on-Demand Vehicles
Time-sensitive parcel deliveries—shipments requested for delivery in a day or less—are an increasingly important aspect of urban logistics. It is challenging to deal with these deliveries from a carrier perspective. These require additional planning constraints, preventing the efficient consolidatio...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/138114 |
| _version_ | 1811087501095337984 |
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| author | Romano Alho, André Sakai, Takanori Oh, Simon Cheng, Cheng Seshadri, Ravi Chong, Wen Han Hara, Yusuke Caravias, Julia Cheah, Lynette Ben-Akiva, Moshe |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Intelligent Transportation Systems Laboratory |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Intelligent Transportation Systems Laboratory Romano Alho, André Sakai, Takanori Oh, Simon Cheng, Cheng Seshadri, Ravi Chong, Wen Han Hara, Yusuke Caravias, Julia Cheah, Lynette Ben-Akiva, Moshe |
| author_sort | Romano Alho, André |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Time-sensitive parcel deliveries—shipments requested for delivery in a day or less—are an increasingly important aspect of urban logistics. It is challenging to deal with these deliveries from a carrier perspective. These require additional planning constraints, preventing the efficient consolidation of deliveries that is possible when demand is well known in advance. Furthermore, such time-sensitive deliveries are requested to a wider spatial scope than retail centers, including homes and offices. Therefore, an increase in such deliveries is considered to exacerbate negative externalities, such as congestion and emissions. One of the solutions is to leverage spare capacity in passenger transport modes. This concept is often denominated as cargo hitching. While there are various system designs, it is crucial that such a solution does not deteriorate the quality of service of passenger trips. This research aims to evaluate the use of mobility-on-demand (MOD) services that perform same-day parcel deliveries. To test the MOD-based solutions, we utilize a high-resolution agent- and activity-based simulation platform of passenger and freight flows. E-commerce demand carrier data collected in Singapore are used to characterize simulated parcel delivery demand. We explore operational scenarios that aim to minimize the adverse effects of fulfilling deliveries with MOD service vehicles on passenger flows. Adverse effects are measured in fulfillment, wait, and travel times. A case study on Singapore indicates that the MOD services have potential to fulfill a considerable amount of parcel deliveries and decrease freight vehicle traffic and total vehicle kilometers travelled without compromising the quality of MOD for passenger travel. Insights into the operational performance of the cargo-hitching service are also provided. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:47:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/138114 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:47:05Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1381142023-04-10T18:51:54Z A Simulation-Based Evaluation of a Cargo-Hitching Service for E-Commerce Using Mobility-on-Demand Vehicles Romano Alho, André Sakai, Takanori Oh, Simon Cheng, Cheng Seshadri, Ravi Chong, Wen Han Hara, Yusuke Caravias, Julia Cheah, Lynette Ben-Akiva, Moshe Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Intelligent Transportation Systems Laboratory Time-sensitive parcel deliveries—shipments requested for delivery in a day or less—are an increasingly important aspect of urban logistics. It is challenging to deal with these deliveries from a carrier perspective. These require additional planning constraints, preventing the efficient consolidation of deliveries that is possible when demand is well known in advance. Furthermore, such time-sensitive deliveries are requested to a wider spatial scope than retail centers, including homes and offices. Therefore, an increase in such deliveries is considered to exacerbate negative externalities, such as congestion and emissions. One of the solutions is to leverage spare capacity in passenger transport modes. This concept is often denominated as cargo hitching. While there are various system designs, it is crucial that such a solution does not deteriorate the quality of service of passenger trips. This research aims to evaluate the use of mobility-on-demand (MOD) services that perform same-day parcel deliveries. To test the MOD-based solutions, we utilize a high-resolution agent- and activity-based simulation platform of passenger and freight flows. E-commerce demand carrier data collected in Singapore are used to characterize simulated parcel delivery demand. We explore operational scenarios that aim to minimize the adverse effects of fulfilling deliveries with MOD service vehicles on passenger flows. Adverse effects are measured in fulfillment, wait, and travel times. A case study on Singapore indicates that the MOD services have potential to fulfill a considerable amount of parcel deliveries and decrease freight vehicle traffic and total vehicle kilometers travelled without compromising the quality of MOD for passenger travel. Insights into the operational performance of the cargo-hitching service are also provided. 2021-11-12T13:17:47Z 2021-11-12T13:17:47Z 2021-11-03 2021-11-11T14:58:02Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/138114 Future Transportation 1 (3): 639-656 (2021) PUBLISHER_CC http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/futuretransp1030034 Creative Commons Attribution https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
| spellingShingle | Romano Alho, André Sakai, Takanori Oh, Simon Cheng, Cheng Seshadri, Ravi Chong, Wen Han Hara, Yusuke Caravias, Julia Cheah, Lynette Ben-Akiva, Moshe A Simulation-Based Evaluation of a Cargo-Hitching Service for E-Commerce Using Mobility-on-Demand Vehicles |
| title | A Simulation-Based Evaluation of a Cargo-Hitching Service for E-Commerce Using Mobility-on-Demand Vehicles |
| title_full | A Simulation-Based Evaluation of a Cargo-Hitching Service for E-Commerce Using Mobility-on-Demand Vehicles |
| title_fullStr | A Simulation-Based Evaluation of a Cargo-Hitching Service for E-Commerce Using Mobility-on-Demand Vehicles |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Simulation-Based Evaluation of a Cargo-Hitching Service for E-Commerce Using Mobility-on-Demand Vehicles |
| title_short | A Simulation-Based Evaluation of a Cargo-Hitching Service for E-Commerce Using Mobility-on-Demand Vehicles |
| title_sort | simulation based evaluation of a cargo hitching service for e commerce using mobility on demand vehicles |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/138114 |
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