New mapping software for sustainable freight

Luxembourg Institute for Science and Technology (LIST) has developed the Smart City Logistics tool as part of the Last Mile Logistics (LaMiLo) project led by the Institute for Sustainability.

Using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, the tool is an open source platform mapping a range of useful data on transportation networks, access restrictions, traffic measures, delivery and transport facilities, districts, population, land use and carbon emissions. Currently, the tool gathers data relevant to urban freight deliveries across the whole of three European capital cities: London, Brussels and Luxembourg.

“The rise in online shopping trends has driven a dramatic increase in freight deliveries, urban transport of goods taking 20 to 25% of road occupancy. This inevitably impacts on traffic congestion, CO2 emissions and noise and air pollution levels,” said Ian Short, chief executive, Institute for Sustainability.

Using the Smart City Logistics platform, LIST says city planners can explore options for suitable locations for logistics facilities such as urban consolidation centres and use the results to inform future planning. Different scenarios can be modelled and compared to current operations to quantify potential savings in terms of road miles, congestion and air pollution.

In addition, the route selection feature identifies the shortest path for a delivery vehicle considering different parameters such as the weight load and access. This can help determine the optimum route for vehicles and help delivery companies save on fuel cost and manage time more efficiently as well as help manage traffic congestion.

“Finding solutions to manage the last mile of deliveries that work for businesses, consumers and the environment requires an integrated understanding of transport, environmental and socio-economic aspects to arrive at sustainable solutions,” he added.

The platform also enables users to test different potential scenarios based on future projections of number and type of vehicle, and see the variations in CO2 emissions compared to the current situation.

Based on the results, planners can identify innovative and sustainable solutions to help streamline delivery activity and create sustainable urban logistics systems for a smarter city.

With published maps freely available, users can also add their own data which can then be shared with other cities.