The City of Seattle has permitted United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) to pilot test a new e-bike parcel delivery system for one year. To quantify and document the public costs and benefits of this multimodal delivery system, the Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics Center (SCTL) at the University of Washington will conduct analyses before and during the 12-month pilot test to look at the following: total changes in vehicle miles traveled (VMT)and emissions along the three affected cargo van routes, changes in the amount of time delivery vans are parked along the routes, rates of failed first delivery attempts, impacts on total VMT and emissions if UPS begins to stage drop boxes along the routes to replenish the e-bikes, and benefits or hazards created by the e-bikes for the e-bike drivers, pedestrians, other bikers, and motor traffic. This project will provide data and evidence to help the city in developing future urban freight policies.
Principal Investigator: Anne V. Goodchild, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Sponsor: City of Seattle
Scheduled completion: February 2020