Micro distribution in urban logistics. The pilot case of the old district of Barcelona

Abstract

The total amount of kilometres travelled by freight vehicles is expected to triple between 2018 and 2050. Today, 64% of all the trips happen within urban environments. There is, hence, a need for organizing the mobility and the urban freight distribution in a more sustainable way. E-commerce has taken more relevance in the last years and an important increase of this type of consumption is expected. E-commerce has compelled to modify supply chain strategies and the management of platform distributions. Urban areas, especially old quarters and pedestrian streets are not the best scenarios for deliveries. Streets are narrow and congested, with insufficient space for loading and unloading manoeuvres. The ecommerce is worsening this situation. One of the possible solutions that have emerged in the last years is the micro consolidation centre, a transhipment point where logistic operators store their goods and transfer them through more environmentally-friendly and smaller vehicles such as cargo bikes, for last mile distribution. This paper presents the study case of the micro distribution in “Ciutat Vella” quarter (Barcelona) and surroundings. This micro consolidation centre, part of H2020 project, GrowSmarter, is in the oldest and most touristic part of the city, with plenty of narrow streets, and the delivery is made by cargo bikes. During the months from January 2017 to March 2019, where the study case took place, the main key performance indicators of the initiative were tracked and analysed. The results of the analysis showed a reduction of the total number of vehicle kilometres, the amount of CO2 emissions, energy and noise levels compared to using conventional vans for the last mile distribution. Besides these direct results, the experience of this case study allows to establish some conclusions and policy recommendations for retailers and city planners in order to implement these types of measures.