An understanding of e-commerce freight vehicle and operating characteristics, such as vehicle sizes, travel patterns, and staging or parking needs, is needed to inform several critical public sector decisions. These include:
- Zoning regulations, project permitting, and other land use considerations;
- Infrastructure capacity planning or safety improvements;
- Regulation or incorporation of new last-mile modes;
- Freight activity modeling; and
- Economic development.
The objective of this research is to provide state, local, and regional transportation professionals with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions regarding urban freight transportation effects of e-commerce within their jurisdictions. Major study tasks would likely include: (1) literature review and background research to determine what is known about e-commerce impacts on urban transportation, (2) structured outreach to identify relevant state, regional, and local transportation agency concerns, (3) analysis of available data and review of available models to quantify e-commerce impacts on urban surface freight transportation where possible and describe them qualitatively where not, and (4) identification of proposed, piloted, or implemented practices, tools, or strategies for mitigating adverse effects and promoting efficiency.
The final product would be a document including: (1) relevant background information on e-commerce, (2) an updated literature review focusing on e-commerce’s urban transportation impacts, (3) an understanding of the drivers and determinants of e-commerce in general, (4) outreach results regarding the e-commerce issue and information needs faced by practitioners, (5) quantitative and qualitative analyses of e-commerce impacts on urban freight, (6) guidelines on incorporating e-commerce considerations in plans, policies, and models, and (7) information on current or proposed strategies, tools, and policies to mitigate adverse impacts and promote efficient and equitable urban goods movement.
