Research Fields
- Urban Freight Transport
- City Logistics
- Transportation Economics
- Sustainable Transportation
Publications
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Nascimento, Carla De Oliveira Leite; Pira, Michela Le; Fazio, Martina; Marcucci, Edoardo; Gatta, Valerio & Pluchino, Alessandro
(2025).
Customers in action : involving crowdshippers in e-grocery deliveries.
Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice.
ISSN 0965-8564.
199(September).
doi:
10.1016/j.tra.2025.104582.
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Improving last-mile deliveries in cities is fundamental to reconciling economic growth with sustainability, especially considering e-groceries’ role. This paper explores grocery system configurations, accounting for service efficiency and crowdshippers’ accessibility, by jointly considering customers’ channel choices, customers’ willingness to act as crowdshippers, alternative delivery options, and comparing a no-detour case and a with-detour alternative. The paper proposes an integrated and coordinated modelling approach to explore alternative e-grocery scenarios, including crowdshipping as a possible alternative delivery option. The key Performance Indicators the paper uses are kilometres driven, shopping time, channel choices, and the number of crowdshippers/receivers. Results indicate that crowdshipping can significantly reduce delivery vehicle Kms driven while improving delivery efficiency and accessibility, and this is greatest when customers take detours. The practical implementation of the solution suggests encouraging participation, ensuring reliability, promoting sustainable practices, and supporting policy integration.
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Oliveira, Leise Kelli; Oliveira, Isabela Kopperschmidt; Nascimento, Carla De Oliveira Leite; Marcucci, Edoardo & Gatta, Valerio
(2024).
Mobility as a service for freight and passenger transport: Identifying a microhubs network to promote crowdshipping service.
Case Studies on Transport Policy.
ISSN 2213-624X.
19(2025)(March).
doi:
10.1016/j.cstp.2024.101356.
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Mobility as a service platform for freight and passenger transport can promote sustainable cities. However, most of the contributions in the literature on mobility as a service platform explicitly focus on passenger mobility only. This article describes the operational characteristics of a mobility as a service platform for freight and passenger transport operated by GoMoov in Joinville, Brazil. In addition, it also explores the setting up of a microhub network for parcel deliveries employing e-shared vehicles and a crowdshipping workforce. Findings indicate that ten microhubs are sufficient to cover the urban area of Joinville (98.96 % of the residents and 98.99 % of the dwellings). Mobility as a Service platform for freight and people transport generates non-negligible economic and environmental benefits. Appropriate marketing strategies and active engagement of the companies involved are crucial to its success.
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Marcucci, Edoardo; Gatta, Valerio; Nascimento, Carla De Oliveira Leite; Aziz, Soukaina; Ayagah, Prince & Montero, Tania
(2024).
The environmental impact of buying groceries online/offline pre and during COVID-19 : any changes?
Transport Policy.
ISSN 0967-070X.
149(April),
p. 222–233.
doi:
10.1016/j.tranpol.2024.01.028.
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COVID-19 has represented a watershed in people's lifestyle. One important consequence has been the change in how people buy groceries online/offline that represent the most frequent shopping-related trip any household performs. Since this has substantially different transport and environmental implications, it is crucial to investigate what are the COVID-19-induced variations. This paper estimates both travel and environmental impacts grocery channel choice implies by comparing, in a diachronic fashion, the pre and during COVID-19 situation in Norway, considering alternative scenarios describing different service configurations for each channel considered. Stated preferences are used to estimate market shares for grocery purchase distinguishing between different channels: in-store, home delivery and click&pick. The robust comparative analysis between the two time periods is guaranteed by the use of the same methodological approach in the same geographical context. Results show that total emissions are lower during the pandemic and adopting a free delivery strategy not only increases home delivery market shares but also produces the lowest level of CO2 emissions regardless of COVID-19. The results obtained are particularly relevant in the "new normal" the world is experiencing both from a public policymaking perspective, when promoting transport-related interventions to curb emissions, and from a private standpoint, when customising market strategies to increase sales and profits.
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Pira, Michela Le; Nascimento, Carla De Oliveira Leite; Giuffrida, Nadia; Tapia, Rodrigo J.; Pilla, Francesco & Tavasszy, Lóránt A.
(2024).
Innovations in last mile logistics : towards inclusivity, resilience and sustainability.
Research in Transportation Economics.
ISSN 0739-8859.
105(July).
doi:
10.1016/j.retrec.2024.101446.
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Nascimento, Carla De Oliveira Leite; Gatta, Valerio & Marcucci, Edoardo
(2023).
Green crowdshipping : critical factors from a business perspective.
Research in Transportation Business and Management (RTBM).
ISSN 2210-5395.
51(December).
doi:
10.1016/j.rtbm.2023.101062.
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Crowdshipping implies involving nonprofessional operators in transporting goods. While its financial benefits are easy to grasp, its environmental implications much depend on the transportation mode used and whether trips are dedicated or non-dedicated. One way of greening crowdshipping services is to use public transportation (less polluting) as a mode of transportation and commuters as bringers (non-dedicated trips). This, in fact, allows minimizing both pollution and congestion at the same time. While conceptually interesting and theoretically self-evident this is practically difficult to implement and much under-studied. A literature review and in-depth interviews are the methods used in sequence to tackle the issue discussed above. The added value this paper produces is a confirmation of already existing research foci, an extension of the research agenda thanks to the investigation of adjacent research fields (passenger and freight urban integration), an enlargement of the critical factors thanks to the practical knowledge deriving form crowdshipping operators.
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Nascimento, Carla De Oliveira Leite & Oliveira, Leise Kelli De
(2023).
Analysing the Potential of Performing Last-Mile Bicycle Deliveries: The Perspective of Brazilian Logistics Operators.
Future Transportation.
3(1),
p. 296–310.
doi:
10.3390/futuretransp3010018.
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Knowledge about the perception of stakeholders regarding the effectiveness of last-mile bicycle deliveries is essential to promote solutions at a local and national level. However, their use is an incipient solution in the Brazilian context. This paper aims to analyse the potential of performing last-mile bicycle deliveries according to the perspective of Brazilian logistics operators. First, the variables that affect the decision of logistic operators to adopt bicycles were captured using the theory of planned behaviour. Later, the intention of behaviour was measured by estimating an ordered logistic regression. The results showed that environmental awareness, public policies and weather conditions negatively influence the intention of logistics operators to perform last-mile bicycle deliveries in Brazil. However, these variables are more cultural than operational, and could be changed by awareness of the importance of performing last-mile bicycle deliveries to promote sustainable cities. Additionally, the findings could encourage the development of sustainable freight policies from private companies to achieve sustainable future transportation.
Keywords: urban freight transport, last-mile bicycle deliveries, cargo bike, theory of planned behaviour, logistics operators
View all works in NVA
Published Sep. 16, 2021 2:16 PM
- Last modified Oct. 3, 2024 1:18 PM