URBAN FREIGHT AND TRAFFIC CONGESTION: DISCUSSION OF CONTROL STRATEGIES

The research presented in this paper was motivated by a study of traffic congestion in Bangkok, which is one of the most congested cities in the world. At the start of the study, some people felt that some of the truck traffic could be diverted to rail, with resulting benefits in congestion reduction, environmental impact and energy efficiency. Similar sentiments have been expressed by officials in other cities. However, rail or intermodal transportation will remain secondary to that of trucks. Hence, it will not be too productive to try to divert traffic to modes other than trucks in order to deal with urban congestion. It will be much better to deal directly with the nature of the truck movements.