Urban Freight Delivery Plan
Urban freight delivery has a considerable impact on congestion and pollution in Bologna’s city centre. The municipality has drawn up a freight delivery plan that it is implementing with the support of CIVITAS MIMOSA.
Implementing sustainable mobility
Bologna’s freight delivery plan is its key instrument to optimise freight delivery in the limited traffic zone in the city centre. Implementation is now in its third and final phase. For the success of the plan, support actions are essential. The municipality is carrying these out within CIVITAS MIMOSA. The activities aim to promote the integration of road pricing policies with technological tools to optimise vehicle trips for freight delivery.
The main objectives of the measure are to:
>> Reduce congestion and the environmental impact of goods delivery in the urban area;
>> Rationalise and optimise goods delivery in the city with the goal to decrease the distance covered while maintaining the same level of service; and
>> Demonstrate the impact a regulatory intervention in freight distribution can have on congestion and pollution in Bologna.
The support actions of the freight delivery plan consist of three main elements. The first is an analysis of how freight distribution is evolving in the city in order to fine-tune the deployment of system. The second task is to promote the integration of small operator systems to create a shared electronic platform. This platform will be based on the one the municipality already deployed for the optimisation of freight delivery. The third part of the measure is to introduce new access policies to the city centre. These will favour less polluting vehicles.
Outside of MIMOSA, Bologna has already implemented various steps under the freight delivery plan to satisfy freight demand while minimising pollution. To this end, the city has for instance rationalised the management of city access permissions, converted the freight vehicle fleet to low-emission vehicles and set up certain areas for loading and unloading goods. These areas are reserved for operators who have joined a consortium of small-scale freight operators.
How is the measure progressing
An initial analysis of the current freight delivery situation has been completed in cooperation with local stakeholders. Throughout the project, this analysis will be updated with emerging trends and scenario modifications. Bologna’s new traffic control centre has been integrated with a van-sharing platform to feed real-time data on the current traffic situation into the route information devices of van-sharing vehicles. Some freight deliveries in the historical city centre are now done by the new van-sharing system. To promote the measure, 21 operators have been contacted, some of which have joined the small-scale freight consortium. Members of the consortium are already benefiting from two electronic parking slot booking models that are currently being tested. They are monitored in real time through innovative technology to check availability and penalise unauthorised parking. Moreover, an electronic platform and website have been set up. Bologna will communicate with citizens and other stakeholders about the measure through the municipal website, the media and promotional events.
What are the expected results of the measure
Bologna expects that by the end of the measure, there will be:
>> A 25 percent reduction in freight vehicle access to the limited traffic zone;
>> An average reduction in deliveries of about 10 percent a year;
>> Improved availability of parking areas loading and unloading of goods; and
>> An average reduction of the occupation rate of parking spaces for the loading and unloading of goods.
