Public Transport-Based Crowd-Shipping with Backup Transfers

Abstract

With the rising urbanization and booming e-commerce, traditional last-mile delivery systems fail to satisfy the need for faster, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly deliveries. Several new approaches are put forward as an alternative to classical delivery systems in this regard, yet none of them offers the same level of flexibility, capacity, reliability, and managerial control by itself. This paper proposes a new last-mile delivery model that combines several new approaches and technologies to address this issue. More precisely, we suggest using public transit as a backbone network completed by automated service points, crowd-shipping, and backup transfers with zero-emission vehicles to provide a low-cost and environmentally friendly express delivery service. The design problem for the envisioned system is formulated as a two-stage stochastic program, and a branch-and-price (BP) algorithm is devised to solve it. Taking advantage of the nearly decomposable structure that would emerge in possible real-world applications, our study presents the first example of using decomposition branching in a BP framework to enhance computational efficiency. Extensive computational studies and simulations with real-world data reveal valuable managerial insights for the proposed system and attest to the efficacy of the suggested methodology.

Public Transport-based Crowd-shipping with Backup Transfers

“…A "" sign indicates that a study is identified to incorporate/discuss the associated dimension. , 2023, , vol. 57, no.…”

“…The suggested delivery model offers ample opportunities for those omnichannel retailers to advance their businesses. , 2023, , vol. 57, no.…”

The Optimization of Split Demand Route Planning Under Metro-Truck Collaborative Distribution

“…Ji et al [13] introduced a hub-and-spoke structure, integrating metro, taxi, and truck services, along with a mixed-integer linear programming model to optimize multi-modal delivery networks. Kizil and Yildiz [14] established a two-stage stochastic program and a branch-price algorithm for a low-cost, environmentally friendly express delivery service. Notably, these studies assumed goods could enter and leave from the metro system to the ground at any selected stations without considering potential platform modifications resulting from freight transportation.…”

Hub Network Design Problem with Capacity, Congestion, and Stochastic Demand Considerations

“…reach of alternative fuel vehicles (Yıldız, Karaşan, and Yaman 2018). Hubs are also at the center of many innovative transportation applications/concepts, such as physical internet (Montreuil 2011), crowdsourced delivery (Macrina et al 2020, Kızıl andYıldız 2022), and mobility as a service (Jittrapirom et al 2017), which are poised to revolutionize the transport sector. The widening use of hub networks in various real-world applications urges several extensions in classical approaches for hub network design problems (HND).…”