Lunch & Learn with Burges Visiting Professor Paul Buijs
2025-10-29 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | More Hall 110
From “I can wait” to impact: Turning consumer patience into more sustainable ecommerce delivery
Presented by Visiting Burges Professor Paul Buijs, Associate Professor, University of Groningen (Netherlands)
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
12 noon – 1 p.m.
In person: More Hall, Room 110
Online: Zoom link
RSVP required.
The Visiting Burges Professorship and lecture is brought to you by Steve and Sylvia Burges and lunch is hosted by the Urban Freight Lab.
Abstract: Do we really need every online order tomorrow, or even today? Often not. Many consumers are willing to accept later delivery when it the option is presented well. This talk explores how that flexibility can be turned into measurable sustainability gains.
This presentation shares ongoing empirical work that quantifies willingness to wait: how many people will delay, by how much, and under what conditions. We test communication strategies and choice architecture to see what actually persuades consumers.
Second, I discuss modeling of what e-commerce sellers and delivery companies can do with the extra time: smoothing workloads across days, concentrating stops to increase delivery density, or skipping low-yield routes. Each lever has distinct effects on distance traveled, fleet use, and emissions.
Finally, I connect consumer behavior with operational strategies to estimate the realizable potential under different contexts. We close with practical playbooks for e-commerce sellers, delivery companies, and cities on how to design checkout choices and delivery policies that translate “I can wait” into a more sustainable last mile.
About the speaker: Dr. Paul Buijs explores how stakeholders are both affected by — and can contribute to — the transition to more sustainable logistics systems. His research spans a wide range of domains, from urban delivery networks to heavy road freight, and considers sustainability through multiple lenses, including carbon emissions, livability, and economic inclusivity. Current topics include how logistics can adapt to evolving urban environments, how urban planning can reduce the sector’s footprint in cities, how to accelerate freight transport decarbonization, how emerging ecommerce delivery and return models impact CO2 emissions, and how to ensure the shift to green urban logistics is equitable for all. Dr. Buijs has a MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management and a Ph.D. in Sustainable Logistics, both from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

POLIS Annual Conference
2025-11-26 08:00 - 2025-11-27 17:00 | Utrecht, Netherlands

Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting
2026-01-12
Presentation: Curb Digitalization for Last-Mile Deliveries (P26-20708)
Presenter: Giacomo Dalla Chiara
Panel: Unlocking the Power of Curb Data: Applications of the Curb Data Specification (Lectern Session 2048)
Date & Time: Monday, January 12, 10:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Description: Cities are increasingly recognizing the curb as one of the most valuable—and most contested—pieces of public space. From rideshare pickups and delivery zones to micro-mobility parking and freight loading, demand at the curb is higher than ever. The Curb Data Specification (CDS) provides a common language for cities, technology providers, and operators to manage this complexity.
This session will explore how cities are applying CDS to improve curb management and support broader mobility goals. Case studies will highlight lessons learned from early adopters, demonstrate the role of CDS in enabling better coordination with private operators, and showcase opportunities to use data-driven approaches for curbside policy and planning. Attendees will gain a practical understanding of how to apply these insights to develop effective curb management strategies, strengthen public-private coordination, and enhance data-driven decision-making in urban planning practice.

Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting
2026-01-13
Poster: A Comparative Analysis of Commercial Vehicle Load Zone Programs Across U.S. Cities (TRBAM-26-01448)
Authors: Giacomo Dalla Chiara, Yu-Chen Chu, Kelly Rula, Anne Goodchild
Session: Last-Mile and Behavioral Logistics (3163)
Date & Time: Tuesday, January 13, 8 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Poster: Understanding Carrier Preferences for Urban Freight Parking Pricing: A Discrete Choice Experiment in Seattle (TRBAM-26-04174)
Authors: Arsalan Esmaili, Giacomo Dalla Chiara, Rubina Singh, Kelly Rula, Anne Goodchild
Session: Current Research in Urban Freight Transportation (3036)
Date & Time: Tuesday, January 13, 8 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Poster: Location-Routing Problem with a Mixed Fleet of E-Cargo Bikes in a Zero-Emission Delivery Zone: The Case of Portland (TRBAM-26-05673)
Authors: Chaoyi Zhang, Anne Goodchild, Kelly Rula
Session: Current Research in Urban Freight Transportation (3036)
Date & Time: Tuesday, January 13, 8 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

Pacific Coast Transportation Workshop
2026-02-20 - 2026-02-21 | UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Los Angeles

Health Effects Institute (HEI) Annual Conference 2026
2026-04-26 - 2026-04-28 | The Westin Chicago River North, Chicago, IL, United States

16th Annual Livable Cities Conference
2026-06-17 - 2026-06-19 | University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom

American Society of Civil Engineers International Conference on Transportation & Development (ICTD)
2026-06-28 - 2026-07-01 | Detroit Marriott at Renaissance Center, 400 Renaissance Drive, Detroit, MI, 48243, United States
ASCE’s flagship transportation conference, the International Conference on Transportation and Development (ICTD) brings together a global community of professionals in transportation systems and infrastructure, including researchers, operations and project managers, academics, consultants, and contractors.

World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR)
2026-07-06 - 2026-07-10 | Université Toulouse Capitole, Toulouse, France
World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR) is a global gathering held every three years, uniting specialists from the transportation sector worldwide. Whether they are researchers, engineers, or public and private decision-makers, experts from all corners of the globe converge to engage in discussions on pressing transportation issues.
Topics for discussion at the World Conference on Transport Research are grouped into 9 distinct themes which include maritime and air transport logistics, infrastructure design, traffic management in urban environments or the emergence of transport in developing countries.
Over the course of 6 days, participants will exchange ideas and solutions to foster innovation and push back the limits of knowledge and technology in the transport sector, thus enabling continuous improvement in this sector.

18th International NECTAR (Network on European Communications and Transport Activity Research) Conference: Planning for Urban Mobility Transitions in Times of Uncertainty
2026-07-13 - 2026-07-16 | Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

Washington State Transportation Commission
2026-07-21 - 2026-07-22 | Online
Anne Goodchild will share about the University of Washington Urban Freight Lab’s Seattle Neighborhood Delivery Hub on Tuesday, July 21, at 11:30 a.m.
The presentation will provide an overview of the Urban Freight Lab, sharing information about recent research on warehouse location and the impact of e-commerce traffic on communities as well as the potential for electrification and land use changes to reduce related impacts.

Urban Freight Lab Summer Quarter Meeting
2026-07-28 | Seattle

Association for European Transport (AET) European Transport Conference
2026-09-09 - 2026-09-11 | University of Porto, Portugal, Portugal
Each year the AET conference presents the opportunity to interact with a range of speakers across the Transport Industry. The range of topics, the multi-seminar approach and the networking environment makes ETC unique among transport conferences, making it the established premier event of its type.
The conference attracts transport practitioners and researchers from all over Europe where they can find in-depth presentations on policy issues, best practice and research findings across the broad spectrum of transport. The range of topics and the multi-seminar approach makes ETC unique among transport conferences and it is well established as the premier event of its type. The conference programme covers supranational issues, national and local policy and the implementation of projects at a local level.
As transport practitioners and researchers throughout Europe respond to the challenges of economic growth, social change, demographics and the need to become more sustainable, the European Transport Conference provides a forum for the presentation of, and discussion on, robust and affordable responses.

Association for European Transport (AET) European Transport Conference 2026
2026-09-09 - 2026-09-11 | University of Porto, Portugal

Association of Sustainable Transportation Researchers (ASTR) Conference
2026-10-27 - 2026-10-29 | Univesity of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States

2027 TRB Annual Meeting
2027-01-10 - 2027-01-14 | Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Allen Y. Lew Place NW (formerly 801 Mt. Vernon Place NW), Washington, DC, United States

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Conference
2027-03-01 08:00 - 2027-03-05 17:00 | Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States
