URBAN FREIGHT TRAFFIC, AN ELEMENTARY STUDY

Urban freight traffic consists of both collecting and distributing long-distance cargo, and business and household transportation and supply traffic. Traffic flows are formed by chains of loading and unloading points, which is the reason why measuring the amount of urban freight traffic as well as describing traffic flows are relatively difficult. public administration is becoming more aware of the importance and diversity of the factors of urban freight traffic. In the past the actions were mainly limited in controlling and restricting freight traffic. At present there are significantly more areas of interest, such as economic efficiency, spatial planning, land management and environmental protection. Several measures have been developed in order to solve the existing problems. The effects of these measures are not always exclusively identified, as the results can only be identified over a long period of time, measuring the effects is difficult, and some necessary actions may not always be implemented due to the differing interests of parties involved. A new term, citylogistics, has been introduced during the last years. It is used in the meaning of all actions aiming at an increase in effectiveness of freight traffic. One of the main elements of the citylogistics is a co-ordinated distribution, in which small lots are combined into bigger freights. Information about freight traffic is needed for urban planning and for environmental impact assessments. The amount of freight traffic, traffic flows and the effectiviness of planned actions are difficult to measure because of the complexity of freight traffic. A simplified Dutch model, which is based on the number of companies creating freight traffic, was analysed in this survey. The usefulness of the model was tested and analysed in three case studies in three cities. The results were promising, and can be generalised to a certain extent to other cities. In the case of other cities individual surveys are however needed, specifically since completing a survey is not time demanding nor expensive. The experiences gained during the survey suggest, that further development is necessary and justified.