INFACT: INtegrated Freight Analysis within CiTies

The INFACT project was funded by the Belgian Federal Science Police Office and conducted by the Belgian Road Research Centre (BRRC), which also was the coordinator of this research project, and the Universities of Antwerp (UA) and Namur (FUNDP). It is the purpose of INFACT to better understand the organization of freight traffic in urban areas and the impacts of strategies and policies that could be set up in that field. INFACT is an acronym for INtegrated Freight Analysis within CiTies. The study examines both sides of inner-city freight traffic: on one hand the logistics activities performed by companies and on the other hand the freight traffic generated by household purchase activities. This study also examines the potential mutual links and interactions between both traffic flows. Downstream urban freight transport (i.e., the purchase behaviour of households) has been described through an innovative method for mobility surveys: the Intercept and Follow method. Upstream freight transport has been simulated with a model, mainly based on generalized costs: transport, store, consolidation and external costs are included in the model. The developed model makes it possible to simulate impacts of possible adaptations, improvements and regulations for different urban logistic concepts. The store acts as an interface between both transport streams. By consequence a policy measure related to urban freight transport could have a positive (negative) effect for one part of the transport chain, but also a negative (positive) one for the other part. The general effect is not always clear. Knowledge about both transport streams and their potential relationship helps authorities to choose the most adequate policy measures to limit urban freight problems. The research is a first step to understand better freight traffic organisation in urban areas. The applied pilot methodology can be used for a real full-scale study. Such a study is an invaluable tool for estimating the effect of urban freight transport policies for a sustainable city organization (A). For the covering abstract of the conference see ITRD E212343.