Reusing Newspaper Kiosks for Last-Mile Delivery in Urban Areas

Abstract

The current increase in e-commerce is generating growing problems in urban areas in terms of both traffic flow (increasing traffic, no parking spaces) and environmental issues (noise, atmospheric pollution, etc.). In parallel, an iconic element of historic districts is disappearing: more and more newspaper kiosks are closing their business as their work dwindles. In this scenario, the objective of this paper is to propose a model for last-mile parcel delivery that exploits the current available newspaper kiosk network by using them as parcel lockers. To demonstrate the benefits of this proposal, we map the kiosk network of the city of Valladolid (Spain), and compare the environmental impact of a traditional (door-to-door) delivery and the proposed model which reuses old kiosks as parcel lockers. The necessary steps to carry out simulations are described in detail so that experiments can be replicated in other cities that face the same issues.

Performance Analysis of Automated Parcel Lockers in Urban Delivery: Combined Agent-Based–Monte Carlo Simulation Approach

“…Cieśla [35] finds that dedicated application, adjusting the size of the package to the size of the box, improvements for people with disabilities or special needs, security of the parcel, and parking next to automated parcel lockers are among the most required attributes of the parcel locker systems. Studies have been dedicated to parcel lockers' network design for optimizing the routing process by transport companies [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] and reducing externalities both for companies and customers [46,47]. The modularization of the locker points, using locker towers, π-containers, and smart mobile lockers [48,49], provides adaptability in demand fluctuations.…”

The Growth of E-Commerce Due to COVID-19 and the Need for Urban Logistics Centers Using Electric Vehicles: Bratislava Case Study

“…A specially designed simulation tool serves for the application of different open fleets (from freight vehicles to cargo bicycles) in urban logistics [17]. Simulation is also applied in a model that utilises newspaper kiosks in the Valladolid city (Spain) as parcel lockers [18]. The problems of an optimal parcel locker location using mathematical methods are described here [19,20].…”

Los indicadores de Desempeño de la Distribución Urbana de Mercancías: Un Análisis Bibliométrico

“…En Estados Unidos, este aumento en la actividad de transporte ha suscitado preocupaciones económicas y medio ambientales entre las que se encuentran el aumento de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero en un 24%, situando al sector como el principal contribuyente a las emisiones en comparación con otros sectores [6], y, además, el elevado costo del transporte en la última milla dentro de la cadena de suministro [7,8]. Este panorama ha motivado la necesidad de abordar el impacto ambiental asociado [9], las externalidades negativas generadas por el movimiento de mercancías en entornos urbanos, y aliviar la congestión vehicular en estas áreas [10], que mejoren la eficiencia en las operaciones de transporte considerando las partes interesadas involucradas y la importancia de abordar estos desafíos en términos de ciudades sostenibles e inteligentes.…”