The integration of passenger and freight transport for first-last mile operations

Abstract

The “First-Last Mile” problem (FLM) is a relevant transport issue. According to the Green Paper on Urban Mobility, the combination of passenger and freight flows may be a valid approach to promote sustainable, efficient and socially desirable FLM transport. This paper proposes a set of key performance indicators to evaluate potential improvements in operational, environmental and social performances of integrated passenger and freight flows, compared to the current transport schemes. The two case studies of the Northern lagoon of Venice in Italy and the Slovenian Municipality of Velenje indicate that the model may be particularly effective in those cases where reduced freight volumes, limited freight pickup/delivery locations and a lower elasticity of the travel demand reduce the constraints to the adoption of this integrated scheme. Results call for a reduction both in distances travelled and in externalities produced, and hence a good potential in FLM terms. Beside these technical aspects, one of the main issues is the need for innovation in the normative/regulatory context: a prerequisite in order to apply this solution to real-life contexts.

Impact of Safety Culture Implementation on Driving Performance among Oil and Gas Tanker Drivers: A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) Approach

“…Evidently, findings may not be generalized to encompass other developing countries and, therefore, future studies should be extended to other parts of Asia. Third, whilst our study focused on oil and gas tanker drivers, the importance of freight transportation must be noted, given the growing volume of international trade and freight transportation [131][132][133]. Future studies should also include other modes of transportation such as trucks, trains, and large ships, as well as the challenges faced by them.…”

The Growth of E-Commerce Due to COVID-19 and the Need for Urban Logistics Centers Using Electric Vehicles: Bratislava Case Study

“…Another possible solution is the integration of passenger and freight transport for first-last mile operations [2,15] and use of railway transport [16]. A specially designed simulation tool serves for the application of different open fleets (from freight vehicles to cargo bicycles) in urban logistics [17].…”

Stakeholders’ Analysis of Environmental Sustainability in Urban Logistics: A Case Study of Tricity, Poland

“…FLM is an informal notion related to the first and last steps of each transport operation that concerns public and private passenger mobility, as well as freight transport. FLM gained importance because of, firstly, being estimated as the most expensive part of each transportation process (from 28% to 75% of all costs) [17], and secondly, due to it being required to be safe, time-sensitive, cost-effective, and convenient [17][18][19].…”