A conceptual framework for integrating urban freight deliveries with public transportation and crowdsourcing

The transformations in urban freight transportation resulting from the increase in e-commerce require novel approaches for integrating these flows with traditional passenger flows in the urban environment. The idea of integrating freight and passenger movements has recently been investigated in academia, aiming to utilize the spare capacity of public transportation to move cargo, thereby reducing congestion in densely populated areas. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for integrating freight deliveries and passenger transportation using the same vehicle and schedules, using scheduled lines (passenger transportation services), ridesharing alternatives (share-a-ride), and crowd shipping. Examples from real-world operations and quantitative analysis of systems are reviewed to construct a framework to assess the fundamental issues with integration. Different planning levels are presented, and integration issues are described, considering aspects of real-world examples in cities around the globe. This paper discusses how freight transportation can be integrated into city planning to reduce the externalities attributed to these operations while promoting a more economical and sustainable option for same-day deliveries.