The Final 50 Feet Research Program at the UW’s Urban Freight Lab focuses on the “final 50 feet” of the urban goods delivery system. This last segment of the supply chain includes searching for parking; loading/unloading at the curb, in an alley, or on a private loading bay; maneuvering intersections, curbs, curb ramps, sidewalks, and building elevators and security; and delivering goods to customers.
In addition to being important to brand reputation and customer satisfaction, the final 50 feet segment is both the most expensive portion of the delivery process (estimated to comprise 25 to 50 percent of transportation supply chain costs) and the most time-consuming.
Rising traffic congestion, limited curb space, and air and noise pollution are major challenges for cities. A significant part of congestion is caused by urban freight transport (trucks compose 7 percent of vehicles on the road and yet create 28 percent of congestion), particularly during the final step of the delivery process.
Two trends—the rise of e-commerce and growing urbanism—are causing challenges for last 50 feet deliveries. E-commerce now accounts for 19.6 percent of total retail sales, up from 14.3 percent in 2018 and 7 percent just a decade ago. The explosion of e-commerce has disrupted traditional delivery operations, overwhelming current infrastructure operations and straining already congested city streets. As cities add new residents accustomed to near-instant gratification, businesses operating in urban environments must maneuver traffic, compete for street space, and meet customer expectations for quick deliveries.
The Final 50 Feet Research Program has used a systems engineering approach to investigate solutions to optimizing operations in the final 50 feet of the supply chain. Researchers have analyzed both the street network and the city’s vertical space (residential and commercial high-rise towers) as one integrated goods delivery system. The program has two goals: reduce carbon emissions (per package per hour) and increase curb efficiency for goods delivery (number of packages per meter of curb per hour).
Research projects have analyzed processes, developed potential solutions, and pilot tested operational improvements to the street network and the city’s vertical spaces. Project topics have included the following:
- Common Carrier Lockers: Lockers can create parcel delivery density by allowing carriers to leave deliveries in one secure location, provide secure drop-off locations in publicly accessible areas, reduce congestion and emissions caused by commercial vehicle trips, and make commercial load/unload parking more productive. One research study provided evidence that a common carrier locker system can significantly reduce delivery times in comparison to traditional floor-to-floor, door-to-door delivery.
- Common Neighborhood Microhubs: A microhub is a central drop-off/pick-up location intended to reduce congestion and vehicle emissions in urban areas by consolidating trips.
- Cargo Bike Delivery: Cargo bikes are more nimble, occupy less space, and reduce congestion and pollutants. Our Cargo E-Bike Delivery Pilot Test in Seattle found that traditional commercial vehicles cruise for parking 50 minutes per day, while cargo bikes can potentially park anywhere.
- Integrated Planning: Although passenger and freight transport share infrastructure, they are largely seen as different systems and remain separate, wasting scarce resources and contributing to congestion and the last mile problem. Our Freight and Transit Lane Case Study found that restricted multi-use lane strategies have the potential to tackle urban freight challenges.
View the Final 50 Feet website for projects and reports
Principal Investigators:
Anne V. Goodchild, UW Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Elizabeth Guzy, UW Urban Freight Lab
Sponsors:
City of Seattle Department of Transportation
PacTrans
U.S. Department of Energy