Estimating truck operating costs for domestic trips – case studies from Greece

"jats:p" The transport sector represents a vital component of national economies and has significant impacts on productivity and social welfare. In 2012, the transport sector in Europe was estimated to account for 3.7% of the European Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 5.1% for employment. Road transport proves to be the predominant mode for moving goods within Europe holding a share of approximately 45.8% in 2012 (in ton-kms). In Greece, the share of road freight transport is significantly higher (98%) indicating the importance of this sector for the Greek economy. To this end and considering the existing needs of road freight transport operators in Greece, the objective of this research is to establish an analytical and documented basis for estimating the operating cost of a truck on specific urban or national freight transport routes. To achieve this goal, an extended literature review has been conducted resulting in the identification of the main components comprising the total truck operating cost, which were then updated and validated through a series of personal interviews with selected road freight transport professionals. An excel-based application tool was also developed in order to facilitate operating cost estimates for different cases, through selection of the proper values of the relevant parameters. The resulting tool was used to analyse four test cases, which demonstrate the tool’s usability and applicability. Results from this analysis have been also validated by industry experts and they reflect real-world transport scenarios. Document type: Articl

Innovative Scheme for Efficient Freight Movement and Sustainable Emissions Management

"jats:p"This paper presents and analyses an innovative integrated scheme that aims to rationalize and improve the efficiency of urban freight transport as well as to promote reduced GHG emissions and traffic flows. Emissions management has become critical concern for modern companies and public authorities seeking to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption from private and commercial heavy vehicle fleets, in line with the political targets of COP21 to COP23. The proposed scheme aims to utilize the current technological advances for efficient transport and logistics operations that regional authorities and companies can use and afford in order to provide competitive traffic management decisions as well as improvements in terms of pollutant emissions reduction. Both public and private stakeholders could interact to monitor and evaluate the impact of traffic policies and measures over time as well as the level of success of their routing strategies. Computational results on different scenarios of an experimental simulation model illustrate the competitiveness of the proposed scheme in an effort to quantify its effect. Document type: Articl

Using the future wheel methodology to assess the impact of open science in the transport sector

Nielsen, A.F., Michelmann, J., Akac, A. et al. Using the future wheel methodology to assess the impact of open science in the transport sector. Sci Rep 13, 6000 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-33102-5Open Science enhances information sharing and makes scientific results of transport research more transparent and accessible at all levels and to everyone allowing integrity and reproducibility. However, what future impacts will Open Science have on the societal, environmental and economic development within the transport sector? Using the Future Wheel methodology, we conducted a workshop with transport experts from both industry and academia to answer this question. The main findings of this study point in the direction of previous studies in other fields, in terms of increased innovation, increased efficiency, economic savings, more equality, and increased participation of citizens. In addition, we found several potential transport specific impacts: lower emission, faster travel times, improved traffic safety, increased awareness for transport policies, artificial intelligence improving mobility services. Several potential negative outcomes of Open Science were also identified by the expert group: job loss, new types of risks, increased cost, increased conflicts, time delays, increased inequality and increased energy consumption. If we know the negative outcomes it is much easier to put in place strategies that are sustainable for a broader stakeholder group, which also increase the probability of taking advantage of all the positive impacts of Open Science.publishedVersio

Estimating truck operating costs for domestic trips

The transport sector represents a vital component of national economies and has significant impacts on productivity and social welfare. In 2012, the transport sector in Europe was estimated to account for 3.7% of the European Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 5.1% for employment. Road transport proves to be the predominant mode for moving goods within Europe holding a share of approximately 45.8% in 2012 (in ton-kms). In Greece, the share of road freight transport is significantly higher (98%) indicating the importance of this sector for the Greek economy. To this end and considering the existing needs of road freight transport operators in Greece, the objective of this research is to establish an analytical and documented basis for estimating the operating cost of a truck on specific urban or national freight transport routes. To achieve this goal, an extended literature review has been conducted resulting in the identification of the main components comprising the total truck operating cost, which were then updated and validated through a series of personal interviews with selected road freight transport professionals. An excel-based application tool was also developed in order to facilitate operating cost estimates for different cases, through selection of the proper values of the relevant parameters. The resulting tool was used to analyse four test cases, which demonstrate the tool’s usability and applicability. Results from this analysis have been also validated by industry experts and they reflect real-world transport scenarios

Challenges and opportunities of open science in transport research

The current technological advances and the rapid development of new collaborative tools have endorsed an on- going transformation of transport research enabling research information sharing. This systematic change of transport research covers a wide range of aspects, from evaluation of research, open access to research results, and relevant data infrastructures, all aiming at making science more efficient, better reproducible and more responsive to societal and economic expectations. In an attempt to address the above, this paper presents an action list of the different main aspects of Open Science in transport research of the European area exploiting previous initiatives and mapping among research areas with longer experience and more “mature” research fields. The novelty of the proposed action list is to contribute in implementing Open Science approaches in transport research enabling stakeholders to share and use all available knowledge at an earlier stage in the research process. The focus is given on the identification of guidelines that transport research stakeholders have to use to integrate open science in their current operations. This opening up of science and research is expected to lead to a European community of transport research stakeholders willing to work together and speed up the path from research to innovation and promote citizen’s engagement in the scientific process

Challenges and opportunities of open science in transport research

The current technological advances and the rapid development of new collaborative tools have endorsed an on- going transformation of transport research enabling research information sharing. This systematic change of transport research covers a wide range of aspects, from evaluation of research, open access to research results, and relevant data infrastructures, all aiming at making science more efficient, better reproducible and more responsive to societal and economic expectations. In an attempt to address the above, this paper presents an action list of the different main aspects of Open Science in transport research of the European area exploiting previous initiatives and mapping among research areas with longer experience and more “mature” research fields. The novelty of the proposed action list is to contribute in implementing Open Science approaches in transport research enabling stakeholders to share and use all available knowledge at an earlier stage in the research process. The focus is given on the identification of guidelines that transport research stakeholders have to use to integrate open science in their current operations. This opening up of science and research is expected to lead to a European community of transport research stakeholders willing to work together and speed up the path from research to innovation and promote citizen’s engagement in the scientific process

Assessing the Macro-Environmental Factors Affecting Innovative Last-Mile Delivery Solutions

This paper aims to provide a PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental) analysis of current trends and changes in the urban goods transport market. The goal is to assess the macro-environmental factors that are affecting innovative solutions for last-mile delivery, and to use this analysis to support decision making and planning for horizontal schemes of collaboration and policy interventions that may be necessary for introducing these solutions successfully and becoming more competitive in practice. By carefully prioritizing these factors, relevant stakeholders can make informed decisions and take effective actions to improve the competitiveness of their operations in the urban goods transport industry

Evaluation of maritime industry compliance with existing environmental regulations – A benchmarking assessment from energy efficiency perspective

The present study provides an initial mapping process for the maritime industry from an energy and environmental perspective. The methodology follows a three-step evaluation process for assessing energy efficiency. At first, an initial categorization of all existing ship type and volume categories based the applied taxonomy within maritime transport sector is made. Secondly, two key energy performance indicators (EEXI & CII) are described and estimated for each individual vessel category. Lastly, an assessment between the examined KPIs values is performed in order to depict the compliance level of each vessel category with the existing environmental regulations set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The results of this paper aim to highlight the alignment of the existing vessel categories with the established environmental regulations and offer a starting point for decision-makers in maritime industry to adopt green shipping energy transition strategies, such as the usage of energy efficiency measures or green alternative fuels

Estimating truck operating costs for domestic trips – case studies from Greece

The transport sector represents a vital component of national economies and has significant impacts on productivity and social welfare. In 2012, the transport sector in Europe was estimated to account for 3.7% of the European Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 5.1% for employment. Road transport proves to be the predominant mode for moving goods within Europe holding a share of approximately 45.8% in 2012 (in ton-kms). In Greece, the share of road freight transport is significantly higher (98%) indicating the importance of this sector for the Greek economy. To this end and considering the existing needs of road freight transport operators in Greece, the objective of this research is to establish an analytical and documented basis for estimating the operating cost of a truck on specific urban or national freight transport routes. To achieve this goal, an extended literature review has been conducted resulting in the identification of the main components comprising the total truck operating cost, which were then updated and validated through a series of personal interviews with selected road freight transport professionals. An excel-based application tool was also developed in order to facilitate operating cost estimates for different cases, through selection of the proper values of the relevant parameters. The resulting tool was used to analyse four test cases, which demonstrate the tool’s usability and applicability. Results from this analysis have been also validated by industry experts and they reflect real-world transport scenarios