Shobayo, Peter

Abstract: Inland shipping could provide a competitive and more sustainable mode of transport in Europe, as it could take advantage of this region's large and dense inland waterway network. However, this is not the case due to the different challenges faced in the Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) sector. Furthermore, there have been growing concerns about the negative societal impact of road transport within dense cities and urban areas. This brings an opportunity for inland shipping to utilize the dense IWT networks that connect to the city centers to use last-mile transport to the urban areas. By doing this, inland shipping can offer a better alternative to road transport and take over some urban freight flows, enhancing its competitiveness and maximizing its underutilized capacities. The rationale of this thesis stems from the need to enhance and strengthen the competitiveness of IWT. IWT competitiveness in this research is a multifaceted concept involving a range of factors that affect the ability to transport cargo to shippers efficiently and effectively. This includes the ability of IWT to provide reliable, efficient, and cost-effective transportation services compared to other transport modes (mainly road transport). Thus, enhancing competitiveness is examined in two stages: the IWT port-hinterland container transport (specifically focusing on port barge operations) and the IWT urban freight transport. These two stages are examined due to the major issues they generate in the hinterland supply chain between the seaports and urban areas, such as barge congestion in seaport operations and the increasing negative externalities of urban freight delivery with trucks. Based on this, three main research questions were identified and addressed in the thesis. These are: 1. What are the main challenges of container barge operations in seaports in North-Western Europe? 2. How can these challenges be addressed? 3. Is it possible to deploy (small) inland vessels for urban freight use from a private and welfare viewpoint? These questions were answered through a multi-methodological approach. A quantitative survey was used to answer the first research question. In contrast, multiple quantitative techniques, such as the agent-based and economic assessment models, answered the second research question. Finally, a social cost-benefit (SCBA) model answered the third research question

Enhancing the competitiveness of inland waterway transport : a multi-methodological approach applied to port barge congestion and urban areas

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