Representatives from the ULaaDS cities of Bremen, Groningen, Bergen and Edinburgh, with colleagues from the ULaaDS Follower cities of Milan, Gdynia, Helmond, and Leuven had the chance to discuss urban logistics solutions over a two-day study visit in Mechelen in May 2022.

The study visit kicked off with a presentation on the ULaaDS cargo-hitching trial. Domien Stubbe from VIL gave an update on the development of the trial which was about to be launched in the Mechelen Noord industrial estate. In this trial – which officially kicked off on the 13th of June – an autonomous electric shuttle will be tested on public roads, the vehicle can transport up to 8 people and also postal packages. The electric shuttle will perform on a circular route completing the loop in about 15 minutes. Employees of the companies along the route can board the vehicle at various stops and use it to get to their workspaces. In addition, companies and private individuals can drop off or pick up postal parcels from bpost in the shuttle. “Cargo-hitching, as it is called, should avoid extra parcel transport along the route and provide a better service for the customer. You can decide yourself when to collect your package from the vehicle,” says Domien Stubbe, project manager at VIL. “It is the first time that this is being tested in Belgium. We are optimizing the use of autonomous vehicles and making it a viable business case.”

Domien’s presentation was followed by a workshop facilitated by studiodott.be, during which the participants had the chance to brainstorm and discuss the likeness and feasibility of autonomous vehicle deployment in cities. The group discussed questions such as:

• Are autonomous vehicles for logistics a green solution to tackle the increasing amount of online shopping and food deliveries?
• What are the biggest challenges in autonomous vehicle deployment in cities?
• What would be the biggest benefits for cities when implementing autonomous vehicles for urban logistics?

After the workshop, participants jumped on their bikes and drove to the ECOkoeriers depot where they had the chance to hear from project partner Inneke Vos, ECOkoeriers Project Manager. Inneke explained the business model and day-to-day operation of ECOkoeriers, a last-mile delivery company that has a longstanding cooperation with the municipality of Mechelen.

In ULaaDS, ECOkoeriers will perform a trial together with bpost and UPS acting as an intermediary between the two logistics players. ECOkoeriers cargo-bikes will collect parcels from local shop owners in Mechelen city centre, the parcels will then be processed at the bpost consolidation centre where the bpost parcels will be kept on-site, while the UPS parcels will be brought to the ECOkoeriers depot and collected there by UPS.

The objective of the trial is to reduce the amount of traffic within Mechelen city centre while offering an efficient service to local shop owners.

After the visit to the ECOkoeriers depot, participants moved to the bpost consolidation centre. There, Gregory Perez – bpost Urban Logistics Project Manager – illustrated the daily operation running in the centre. Participants were able to get insights on how bpost is managing its impressive fleet of bike trailers and e-vehicles.

Once back indoors, the rest of the day saw enriching discussions and expertise being shared.

The three ULaaDS follower cities of Milan, Gdynia, and Leuven shared some of their urban logistics success stories. Milan presented their Cognitive framework Freight distribution, a methodology which entails stakeholder engagement through an urban goods transportation survey with the aim of estimating goods flows. Gdynia shared their experience with setting up and running cargo-bike sharing operations. While Leuven presented their preliminary findings in testing flexible curbside management thanks to the FlexCURB project.

After lunch, the participants got re-energised with an engaging workshop organised by the University of Groningen (RUG) on Future Scenarios for Last-mile Logistics. The colleagues from RUG presented six urban logistics scenarios, each characterised by different levels of government involvement and technological innovation deployment.

The six scenarios are described in detail here. The participants identified three key policy actions that would help cities move forward a more sustainable urban logistics landscape:

1) Creating a strategy or vision;
2) Establishing regulations;
3) Investing in knowledge and expertise.

During the last part of the workshop, the participants were given a set of unexpected challenges that the future might bring when it comes to urban logistics, and had to identify possible routes to face these disruptions. The full report on the workshop is available here.

The study visit ended with a Transferability session where the participating cities had the chance to reflect on the measures, solutions, and strategies that were showcased and discussed during the visit, with the objective of assessing what they could bring back and potentially replicate in their own cities’ contexts. On the wish-list of many participants was the uptake of measures to enhance flexible curbside management, as well as replicating the Mechelen Eco-zone approach, including vehicle access restrictions and the use of PuDos (Pick-up and Drop-off points). The work of the local consolidation centre and the extensive use of cargo bikes and bike trailers were also highlighted as inspirational measures for further take-up.

ULaaDS cities will continue exchanging and discussing sustainable urban logistics solutions at the upcoming ULaaDS study visit, which will take place in October 2022 in Groningen.