WAlking and PArking Dynamics of Drivers (WAPADD): Analysis and Model Development for Sustainable Urban Delivery

The project addresses the critical but often overlooked aspects of delivery drivers' walking and parking behaviors in urban logistics. With 80% of a delivery driver's time spent outside the vehicle during the last leg of delivery, comprehending these dynamics becomes pivotal for sustainable urban delivery routes.

For the first time, KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden) and the University of Washington (US) will work together to address this challenge, with the support of two established logistics companies, UPS (US) and Widriksson Logistik (Sweden), as well as input from Seattle and Stockholm planning agencies.

The project aims to develop empirical models to reproduce these behaviors (in contrast with theoretical routes) and employ them into the evaluation of innovative solutions, such as e-carts (electric trolleys) and parking management strategies.

The research team will address these questions by gathering empirical data on delivery drivers’ operations in the vehicle (driving and parking) and outside the vehicle (walking to the final delivery destinations) from two different urban contexts: Stockholm (Sweden) and Seattle (US). Statistical models of delivery drivers’ behavior will be estimated and included in a simulation framework to test different policy and technology scenarios. The main results from the project will provide a fundamental understanding of the role of parking and walking in last-mile deliveries and how to improve last-mile delivery sustainability (from an efficiency and environmental perspective).

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