Abstract
Urbanization, an integral part of economic development, puts immense pressure on the transportation infrastructure of cities. Sustainable freight distribution practices are necessary to support economic development of urban areas. Retail districts, a common feature of many cities are a result of agglomeration of commercial activities in certain areas within a city. Distribution of goods to these areas is particularly relevant due to its prime location. In the current study, problems associated with freight distribution to retail districts are identified, and efficacy of potential solutions is investigated. To identify the problems, we collected primary data from multiple stakeholders involved in retail freight distribution in Singapore. Using the dis-aggregate data collected from retail stores and carriers, econometric freight demand models for buildings with high retail land-use are developed. Based on the experience from many cities, the current study identifies Urban Consolidation Centres (UCC) and Off-Hour Deliveries (OHD) as two promising practices for freight distributions to retail intensive areas in cities. The carrier data collected from Singapore also showed potential for these schemes. We conduct ex-ante evaluation of the schemes to check the feasibility. For preliminary evaluation of UCC, this study develops a mathematical model for changes in freight trips due to UCC. For detailed analysis of UCC and OHD schemes, we make enhancements in an existing agent-based simulation platform named SimMobility freight simulator. We also conduct Stated Preference (SP) surveys to develop behavioural models for stakeholder’s participation. The participation models are integrated into SimMobility freight simulator to conduct UCC and OHD scenario simulations for a retail district in Singapore. The results of the current study show that UCC and OHD have potential to improve the freight distributions to retail districts, but the impact is influenced by many factors. We found participation to be an important factor. Both the mathematical model and simulations using agent-based simulator show that the freight delivery system of a retail district can be worse off at low levels of participation. Simulation results further show that receiver participation scenarios perform better than shipper scenarios, indicating the need to focus on receivers as the target group for the UCC and OHD schemes.