1-5: Multimodal strategies for mitigating congestion from urban parcel delivery

Abstract

The explosive growth in e-commerce, the increasing urgency of de-carbonization, the rapid advances in UAV technology, and the continuous disruptive development of the gig economy create needs and opportunities for dramatic improvements in urban package delivery. E-commerce may greatly increase the demand for such deliveries, traditionally made by truck and van, as urban residents substitute purchases made over the Internet for those acquired in brick-and-mortar stores. To mitigate the congestion impact from truck and van traffic, as well as reduce costs and travel times, last-mile delivery should in many cases be shifted toward non-motorized modes (e.g., walkers and bicyclists) and UAV. While there is literature on how to optimally configure urban delivery systems composed of these modes, most of the research in this area does not consider these problems in the context of urban congestion. In addition, the familiar issues of urban street congestion, in the future we may also see congestion above the city from UAVtraffic, as use of these vehicles for urban package delivery and other purposes intensifies.

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