Mobility Restrictions and E-Commerce: Holistic Balance in Madrid Centre during COVID-19 Lockdown
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 13 April 2021
- Vol. 9 (2), 57
- https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9020057
Abstract
COVID-19 has brought about a substantial change in urban mobility, as well as an unprecedented increase in e-commerce throughout the world due to the emergence of new ways of shopping and consumption habits. In this context, urban logistics plays a crucial role in the triple bottom line of sustainability. The present document establishes a holistic vision of the problem aiming to (i) measure and compare the traffic generated in the Madrid Central area (low-emission zone) during the periods before and after the pandemic, and (ii) quantify e-commerce orders made by residents, as well as the Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) required to deliver these parcels, measuring their environmental impact. The results show that road traffic in the Madrid Central area decreased by approximately 2/3 compared to normal levels and 1/2 in the case of LCVs. With regards to e-commerce, the number of parcels delivered doubled. This fact entailed an increase in the number of LVCs dedicated to package delivery in the central district and more pollution, but to a lesser extent than the growth of e-commerce. The challenge faced by urban logistics in the post-Covid era is managing to blend new mobility within large cities with the high volumes of e-commerce deliveries demanded by residents.Keywords
This publication has 23 references indexed in Scilit:
- Responsible Transport: A post-COVID agenda for transport policy and practiceTransportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 2020
- Observed and Potential Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the EnvironmentInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020
- Predicting the impacts of epidemic outbreaks on global supply chains: A simulation-based analysis on the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2) caseTransportation Research. Part E, Logistics and Transportation Review, 2020
- The rise of on-demand ‘Instant Deliveries’ in European citiesSupply Chain Forum: An International Journal, 2017
- Vehicle routing problems for city logisticsEURO Journal on Transportation and Logistics, 2017
- City logistics, urban goods distribution and last mile delivery and collectionCompetition and Regulation in Network Industries, 2017
- A selected review on the negative externalities of the freight transportation: Modeling and pricingTransportation Research. Part E, Logistics and Transportation Review, 2015
- Urban freight transport and policy changes: Improving decision makers' awareness via an agent-specific approachTransport Policy, 2014
- Reducing Social and Environmental Impacts of Urban Freight Transport: A Review of Some Major CitiesProcedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2012
- Advanced freight transportation systems for congested urban areasTransportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 2004