ICT for Sustainable Last-Mile Logistics: Data, People and Parcels

Abstract

In this paper we present a vision of how ICT can be leveraged to help combat the impact on pollution, congestion and carbon emissions contributed by the parcel delivery sector. This is timely given annual growth in parcel deliveries, especially same-day deliveries, and the need to inform initiatives to clean up our cities such as the sales ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles in the UK by 2040. Our insights are informed by research on parcel logistics in Central London, leveraging a data set of parcel manifests spanning 6 months. To understand the impact of growing e-commerce trends on parcel deliveries we provide a mixed methods case study leveraging data-driven analysis and qualitative fieldwork to demonstrate how ICT can uncover the impact of parcel deliveries on delivery drivers and their delivery rounds during seasonal deliveries (or "the silly season"). We finish by discussing key opportunities for intervention and further research in ICT4S and co-created Smart Cities, connecting our findings with existing research and data as a call to the ICT4S community to help tackle the growth in carbon emissions, pollution and congestion linked to parcel deliveries.

Application of a Tax to E-Commerce Deliveries in Barcelona

“…Bates et al ( 38 ), found from GPS data that stem mileage represented 50.26% in a last-mile study in central London. Now, the distance run in the delivery area is also 50% of the total cycle.…”

Comparison of Time-Area Requirements of Parcel Lockers vs. Home Delivery: A Cyber-Physical System of Last Mile Delivery

“…Data from London has been used given that no data with this level of detail was available to the authors from NYC. It has been assumed that the handover time in NYC and London should be similar as the population density is similar (NYC: 10,429 km 2 [39]; Inner London 11,352 km 2 [40]), parking pressure and parking fines are a problem in both cities [41], and both cities had/have pedestrian couriers delivering parcels to central areas [42]. The time it takes to deliver parcels to the customer's home is calculated as follows:…”

The Future Delivered: Rethinking Last Mile in the Age of Instant Gratification

“…The culminating part of transportation in the logistical chain is also referred to a s the "last mile" phrase [3]. Last-mile delivery refers to the final phase in the process of delivery.…”