Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Time Constraints: The Cost
of Sustainability
Jesus Muñuzuri and J. H. R. van Duin
Abstract Time constraints imposed on the accessibility of delivery vehicles to the
inner city centre are a commonplace policy in European cities, linked to sus-
tainable mobility strategies and seeking to reduce congestion, parking problems
and pollution in the most sensible area of the city. However, these time constraints
also impose an extra cost on carriers, who are often forced to modify their routes or
use more vehicles, thus reducing the efficiency of the system. We present and
apply a VRP-based methodology to estimate these costs, which should be brought
into the overall cost-benefit analysis of urban time constraint policies.
1 Access Time Restriction
1.1 Description of the Policy
City logistics policies are not very often the result of detailed analyses and eval-
uations. This is reflected in similar types of regulations repeated through the
different cities regardless their characteristics, the same type of accessibility and
load/unload policies, and the failure to recognize different types of urban distri-
bution which require different types of regulations. Apart from copying regulation
frameworks, however, cities do not share information, knowledge or cooperation,
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