The Influence of Time Windows on the Costs of Urban Freight Distribution Services in City Logistics Applications

Authors

  • Francesco Deflorio Politecnico di Torino
  • Jesus Gonzalez-Feliu Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
  • Guido Perboli Politecnico di Torino and CIRRELT
  • Roberto Tadei Politecnico di Torino

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18757/ejtir.2012.12.3.2965

Abstract

In freight distribution services a required quality level may have a relevant effect on transportation costs. For this reason an evaluation tool is useful to compare different service settings and support the decision, on the base of quantitative indicators. This paper proposes a method for cost evaluation in this context and presents an application to a case study concerning a freight distribution service, which operates on a wide road network having a city centre, a peripheral urban area and a peri-urban rural zone. A simulation method is proposed to obtain real-life scenarios in order to test the method and its indicators. The performance of each indicator has been evaluated in an experimental context to produce realistic test cases, using a trip planning tool and a demand generator. First, the behaviour of the indicators is analysed with regard to the time windows width planned for the service. Then, their ability in estimating the total transportation cost to satisfy all the requests, under different time period profiles, is shown. The results confirm the ability of the set of indicators to predict with a good approximation the transportation costs and therefore to be used in supporting the service quality planning decisions.

Downloads

Metrics

PDF views
197
Jul 2012Jan 2013Jul 2013Jan 2014Jul 2014Jan 2015Jul 2015Jan 2016Jul 2016Jan 2017Jul 2017Jan 2018Jul 2018Jan 2019Jul 2019Jan 2020Jul 2020Jan 2021Jul 2021Jan 2022Jul 2022Jan 2023Jul 2023Jan 2024Jul 2024Jan 2025Jul 2025Jan 202612
|

Downloads

Published

2012-06-01

How to Cite

Deflorio, F., Gonzalez-Feliu, J., Perboli, G., & Tadei, R. (2012). The Influence of Time Windows on the Costs of Urban Freight Distribution Services in City Logistics Applications. European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.18757/ejtir.2012.12.3.2965

Issue

Section

Articles