Financing Urban Logistics Projects - Sustainable Urban Logistics: Concepts, Methods and Information Systems - page 255

distribution group), and follows the competition rules. The public intervention is
more related to indirect subsidies to make the real estate costs decrease.
A similar case is that of soft mode transport, like Chronopost (postal chariots
and small electric vehicles) and La Petite Reine (electric-supported cargo cycles).
In both cases, a private initiative started the system, with the goal of an operational
system. To do this, a help of public authorities in terms of real estate advantages is
needed. Outside of those indirect subventions, no other advantages, neither

political nor financial, are given to operators.
In all those cases, the collaboration seems to take place in the form of private
initiatives with the need of public subsidy strategies.

5.1.3 Proximity Delivery Points

Another interesting facility, mode related to e-commerce and proximity delivery
services is that of proximity delivery points (Augereau and Dablanc 2008 ; Durand
and Gonzalez-Feliu 2012 ). Nowadays, two types of reception points are seen:
small shops acting as reception points for food and non-food parcel deliveries,
which are in general private networks without public funding, and automatic
delivery machines for non-food parcels, mainly located in passage points of cities
(terminal public transport stations, commercial areas, etc.), which need in general
a help of the land owner's to be developed. Although some public-private part-
nerships can be made in the first category (to use postal offices as delivery
reception points, for example), the most interesting collaboration is found in the
second category, where public-private partnerships can increase the competi-
tiveness of its business models and provide benefits to both public and private
stakeholders.
In Japan we have a large number of small convenience stores in urban areas
which are used as proximity delivery points using e-commerce. The individual
delivery of products to home with designated time windows can generate a burden
for e-commerce company. A freight carrier very often has to visit customer more
than one time, since no body is at home. To avoid such inefficient delivery,
customers can obtain their products at a convenience store near their home, which
is generally open for 24 h. These systems are operated without any subsidies by
public sector. As e-commerce and home delivery is increasing in aging society,
proximity delivery points play an important role to reduce costs of home delivery.

5.2 Introduction of ITS and ICT for Urban Logistics

The example is a clear example that illustrates it. In addition to delivery space
booking, truck-based intersection control systems, like those of Helmond, the
Netherlands (Pluvinet et al. 2012) can be deployed. Both systems need the
implication of cities since there is a communication between he vehicle (a login