Paper

SimMobility Freight: An Agent-Based Urban Freight Simulator for Evaluating Logistics Solutions

URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2020.102017

Publication: Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review

Volume: 141

Publication Date: 2020

Summary:

Despite significant advances in freight transport modeling in recent years, there is still lack of available tools for evaluating novel logistics solutions. We introduce the framework of SimMobility Freight, which is part of SimMobility, a multi-scale agent-based urban transportation simulation platform. SimMobility Freight is capable of simulating commodity contracts, logistics and vehicle operation planning and parking decisions in a fully-disaggregate manner. This allows us to evaluate alternative logistics solutions and measure their impacts. To illustrate its capability, we conduct an analysis of delivery time window regulations, assessing the policy impacts.

Authors: Dr. Giacomo Dalla Chiara, Takanori Sakai, André Romano Alho, B.K. Bhavathrathan, Raja Gopalakrish, Peiyu Jinge, Tetsuro Hyodo, Lynette Cheah, Moshe Ben-Akivae

Recommended Citation:
Sakai, T., Romano Alho, A., Bhavathrathan, B., Chiara, G. D., Gopalakrishnan, R., Jing, P., Hyodo, T., Cheah, L., & Ben-Akiva, M. (2020). SimMobility Freight: An Agent-Based Urban Freight Simulator for Evaluating Logistics Solutions. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 141, 102017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2020.102017

Paper

GPS Tracking of Freight Vehicles to Identify and Classify Bottlenecks

URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6338666

Publication: Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), 2012 15th International IEEE Conference

Publication Date: 2012

Summary:

This paper presents a systematic methodology for identifying and ranking bottlenecks using probe data collected by commercial GPS fleet management devices. This methodology is based on the hypotheses that truck speed distributions can be represented by either a unimodal or bimodal probability density function, and it proposes a new reliability measure for evaluating roadway performance.

Authors: Dr. Ed McCormack, Wenjuan Zhao, Daniel J. Dailey

Recommended Citation:
McCormack, E., Zhao, W., & Dailey, D. J. (2012, September). GPS Tracking of Freight Vehicles to Identify and Classify Bottlenecks. In 2012 15th International IEEE Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (pp. 1245-1249). IEEE.

Paper

Measuring Delivery Route Cost Trade-Offs Between Electric-Assist Cargo Bicycles and Delivery Trucks in Dense Urban Areas

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URL: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12544-019-0349-5

Publication: European Transport Research Review

Volume: 11

Publication Date: 2019

Summary:

Introduction

Completing urban freight deliveries is increasingly a challenge in congested urban areas, particularly when delivery trucks are required to meet time windows. Depending on the route characteristics, Electric Assist (EA) cargo bicycles may serve as an economically viable alternative to delivery trucks. The purpose of this paper is to compare the delivery route cost trade-offs between box delivery trucks and EA cargo bicycles that have the same route and delivery characteristics, and to explore the question, under what conditions do EA cargo bikes perform at a lower cost than typical delivery trucks?

Methods

The independent variables, constant variables, and assumptions used for the cost function comparison model were gathered through data collection and a literature review. A delivery route in Seattle was observed and used as the base case; the same route was then modeled using EA cargo bicycles.

Four separate delivery scenarios were modeled to evaluate how the following independent route characteristics would impact delivery route cost – distance between a distribution center (DC) and a neighborhood, number of stops, distance between each stop, and number of parcels per stop.

Results

The analysis shows that three of the four modeled route characteristics affect the cost trade-offs between delivery trucks and EA cargo bikes. EA cargo bikes are more cost effective than delivery trucks for deliveries in close proximity to the DC (less than 2 miles for the observed delivery route with 50 parcels per stop and less than 6 miles for the hypothetical delivery route with 10 parcels per stop) and at which there is a high density of residential units and low delivery volumes per stop.

Conclusion

Delivery trucks are more cost effective for greater distances from the DC and for large volume deliveries to one stop.

Authors: Polina ButrinaDr. Anne GoodchildManali ShethDr. Ed McCormack

Recommended Citation:
Sheth, Manali, Polina Butrina, Anne Goodchild, and Edward McCormack. "Measuring delivery route cost trade-offs between electric-assist cargo bicycles and delivery trucks in dense urban areas." European Transport Research Review 11, no. 1 (2019): 11.

Paper

A Description of Fatal Bicycle Truck Accidents in the United States: 2000 to 2010

URL: https://trid.trb.org/view/1394216

Publication: Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting

Volume: 16-5911

Publication Date: 2016

Summary:

Bicycling is being encouraged across the US and the world as a low-impact, environmentally friendly mode of transportation. In the US, many states and cities, especially cities facing congestion issues, are encouraging cycling as an alternative to automobiles. However, as cities grow and consumption increases, freight traffic in cities will increase as well, leading to higher amounts of interactions between cyclists and trucks. This paper will describe where and how accidents between cyclists and trucks occur. From 2000 to 2010, 807 bicyclists were killed the United States in accidents involving trucks. In 2009, trucks accounted for 9.5% of fatal bicycle accidents, despite trucks only accounting for 4.5% of registered vehicles. The typical fatal bike-truck accident happens in an urban area on an arterial street with a speed limit of 35 or 45 mph. It is about equally likely to occur mid-block or at an intersection. Most accidents involved trucks going straight (56%), and right-turning trucks were involved in a much larger number of accidents (24%) than left turning trucks (7%). Methods such as providing bicycle lanes, or even physically separated bicycle tracks, will not be sufficient to address bicycle-truck collisions, as a significant number of accidents (49%) occur in intersections or are intersection related. Cities with a higher mode-share of bicycling had a lower rate of bicycle-truck fatality accidents.

Authors: Dr. Anne Goodchild, Jerome Drescher

Recommended Citation:
Drescher, Jerome and Anne Goodchild. (2016), "A Description of Fatal Bicycle Truck Accidents in the United States: 2000 to 2010," Accepted for presentation at the 95th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington DC, January 10-14. [Paper # 16-5911]

Paper

Examining the Differential Responses of Shippers and Motor Carriers to Travel Time Variability

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/jal.2012010103

Publication: International Journal of Applied Logistics

Volume: 3 (1)

Pages: 39-53

Publication Date: 2012

Summary:

Shippers and motor carriers are impacted by and react differently to travel time variability due to their positions within the supply chain and end goals. Through interviews and focus groups these differences have been further examined. Shippers, defined here as entities that send or receive goods, but do not provide the transportation themselves, are most often concerned with longer-term disruptions, which are typically considered within the context of transportation system resilience. Motor carriers, defined here as entities engaged in transporting goods for shippers, are most often concerned with daily travel time variability from events such as congestion. This paper describes the disparity in concerns and the strategies shippers and motor carriers are likely to engage in to address time travel variability. This knowledge allows for a better understanding of how investments to mitigate travel time variability will impact shippers and motor carriers.

Authors: Dr. Anne GoodchildDr. Ed McCormack, Kelly Pitera

Recommended Citation:
Goodchild, Anne V., Kelly Pitera, and Edward McCormack. "Examining the differential responses of shippers and motor carriers to travel time variability." International Journal of Applied Logistics (IJAL) 3, no. 1 (2012): 39-53.

Paper

Understanding Freight Trip Chaining Behavior Using Spatial Data Mining Approach with GPS Data

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URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2596-06

Publication: Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

Volume: 2596

Pages: 44-54

Publication Date: 2016

Summary:

Freight systems are a critical yet complex component of the transportation domain. Understanding the dynamic of freight movements will help in better management of freight demand and eventually improve freight system efficiency. This paper presents a series of data-mining algorithms to extract an individual truck’s trip-chaining information from multi-day GPS data. Individual trucks’ anchor points were identified with the spatial clustering algorithm for density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise. The anchor points were linked to construct individual trucks’ trip chains with 3-day GPS data, which showed that 51% of the trucks in the data set had at least one trip chain. A partitioning around medoids nonhierarchical clustering algorithm was applied to group trucks with similar trip-chaining characteristics. Four clusters were generated and validated by visual inspection when the trip-chaining statistics were distinct from each other. This study sheds light on modeling freight-chaining behavior in the context of massive freight GPS data sets. The proposed trip chain extraction and behavior classification algorithms can be readily implemented by transportation researchers and practitioners to facilitate the development of activity-based freight demand models.

Authors: Dr. Ed McCormack, X. Ma, W. Yong, and Yinhai Wang

Recommended Citation:
Ma, Xiaolei & Wang, Yong & McCormack, Edward & Wang, Yinhai. (2016). Understanding Freight Trip-Chaining Behavior Using a Spatial Data-Mining Approach with GPS Data. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2596. 44-54. 10.3141/2596-06.

Paper

An Empirical Analysis of Passenger Vehicle Dwell Time and Curb Management Strategies for Ride-Hailing Pick-Up/Drop-Off Operations

URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-023-10380-6

Publication: Transportation

Publication Date: 2023

Summary:

With the dramatic and recent growth in demand for curbside pick-up and drop-off by ride-hailing services, as well as online shopping and associated deliveries, balancing the needs of roadway users is increasingly critical. Local governments lack tools to evaluate the impacts of curb management strategies that prioritize different users’ needs. The dwell time of passenger vehicles picking up/dropping off (PUDO) passengers, including ride-hailing vehicles, taxis, and other cars, is a vital metric for curb management, but little is understood about the key factors that affect it. This research used a hazard-based duration modeling approach to describe the PUDO dwell times of over 6,000 passenger vehicles conducted in Seattle, Wash. Additionally, a before-after study approach was used to assess the effects of two curb management strategies: adding PUDO zones and geofencing. Results showed that the number of passenger maneuvers, location and time of day, and traffic and operation management factors significantly affected PUDO dwell times. PUDO operations took longer with more passengers, pick-ups (as opposed to drop-offs), vehicle´s trunk access, curbside stops, and in the afternoon. More vehicles at the curb and in adjacent travel lanes were found to be related to shorter PUDO dwell times but with a less practical significance. Ride-hailing vehicles tended to spend less time conducting PUDOs than other passenger vehicles and taxis. Adding PUDO zones, together with geofencing, was found to be related to faster PUDO operations at the curb. Suggestions are made for the future design of curb management strategies to accommodate ride-hailing operations.

Authors: José Luis Machado LeónDr. Anne Goodchild, Don MacKenzie (University of Washington College of Engineering)

Recommended Citation:
Machado-León, J.L., MacKenzie, D. & Goodchild, A. An Empirical Analysis of Passenger Vehicle Dwell Time and Curb Management Strategies for Ride-Hailing Pick-Up/Drop-Off Operations. Transportation (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-023-10380-6

Paper

Data Stories from Urban Loading Bays

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URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12544-017-0267-3

Publication: European Transport Research Review

Volume: 9

Publication Date: 2017

Summary:

Freight vehicle parking facilities at large urban freight traffic generators, such as urban retail malls, are often characterized by a high volume of vehicle arrivals and a poor parking supply infrastructure. Recurrent congestion of freight parking facilities generates environmental (e.g. pollution), economic (e.g. delays in deliveries), and freight and social (e.g. traffic) negative externalities. Solutions aimed at either improving or better managing the existing parking infrastructure rely heavily on data and data-driven models to predict their impact and guide their implementation. In the current work, we provide a quantitative study of the parking supply and freight vehicle drivers’ parking behavior at urban retail malls.

We use as case studies two typical urban retail malls located in Singapore, and collect detailed data on freight vehicles delivering or picking up goods at these malls. Insights from this data collection effort are relayed as data stories. We first describe the parking facility at a mall as a queueing system, where freight vehicles are the agents and their decisions are the parking location choice and the parking duration.

Using the data collected, we analyze (i) the arrival rates of vehicles at the observed malls, (ii) the empirical distribution of parking durations at the loading bays, (iii) the factors that influence the parking duration, (iv) the empirical distribution of waiting times spent by freight vehicle queueing to access the loading bay, and (v) the driver parking location choices and how this choice is influenced by system congestion.

This characterization of freight driver behavior and parking facility system performance enables one to understand current challenges, and begin to explore the feasibility of freight parking and loading bay management solutions.

Authors: Dr. Giacomo Dalla Chiara, Lynette Cheah

Recommended Citation:
Dalla Chiara, G., Cheah, L. Data stories from urban loading bays. Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. 9, 50 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12544-017-0267-3

Paper

Network Design with Elastic Demand and Dynamic Passenger Assignment to Assess the Performance of Transit Services

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URL: https://doi.org/10.1061/JTEPBS.0000326

Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems

Volume: 146:05:00

Publication Date: 2020

Summary:

This study proposes a solution framework for operational analysis and financial assessment of transit services that considers the passenger behavior and the elasticity of transit demand to service characteristics. The proposed solution framework integrates a dynamic transit passenger assignment model (Fast-Trips) with a mode choice model and a service design module, and iterates these methods until an equilibrium between fares and frequencies is reached. The solution framework was implemented for a newly conceived intercity transit service in Arizona, and the system performance was studied for multiple fare policy and frequency design scenarios. The results showed that the scenarios with designed-oriented frequencies had lower ratios of revenue to operating cost (R/C) compared with those in which frequencies were set based on the passenger path-choice behaviors and route usage, which emphasizes the importance of considering elastic transit demand in network and service designs. The sensitivity analysis also indicated that there are multiple ways to achieve a certain R/C ratio, and therefore it is the other objectives and the operator’s priorities that define the final design and service characteristics.

Authors: Dr. Andisheh Ranjbari, Mark Hickman, Yi-Chang Chiu

Recommended Citation:
Ranjbari, A., Hickman, M., & Chiu, Y. C. (2020). Network Design with Elastic Demand and Dynamic Passenger Assignment to Assess the Performance of Transit Services. Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems, 146(5), 04020030. https://doi.org/10.1061/jtepbs.0000326.

Paper

Bringing Alleys to Light: An Urban Freight Infrastructure Viewpoint

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URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.102847

Publication: Cities

Volume: 105

Publication Date: 2020

Summary:

There is growing pressure in cities to unlock the potential of every public infrastructure element as density and demand for urban resources increase. Despite their historical role as providing access to land uses for freight and servicing, alleys have not been studied as a resource in modern freight access planning.

The authors developed a replicable data collection method to build and maintain an alley inventory and operations study focused on commercial vehicles. A Seattle Case study showed that 40% of the urban center city blocks have an alley. 90% of those alleys are wide enough to accommodate only a single lane for commercial vehicles. 437 parking operations were recorded in seven alleys during business hours and found that all alleys were vacant 50% of the time.

This confirms that, in its alleys, Seattle has a valuable resource as both space for freight load/unload; and direct access to parking facilities and business entrances for commercial, private, and emergency response vehicles.

However, alley design features and the prevalence of parking facilities accessed through the alley may restrict the freight load/unload space in the alley. Future efforts should investigate how to better manage these infrastructures.

Authors: Dr. Anne GoodchildJosé Luis Machado LeónGabriela Girón-Valderrama

Recommended Citation:
Machado-León, Girón-Valderrama, G. del C., & Goodchild, A. (2020). Bringing Alleys to Light: An Urban Freight Infrastructure Viewpoint. Cities, 105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.102847