Fostering unassisted off-hour deliveries: the role of incentives

• This paper describes the chief findings of research conducted to assess the willingness of receivers of supplies to accept unassisted off-hour deliveries (U-OHD), which are those conducted outside regular business hours and without the assistance of the receiving establishment staff. U-OHD have potential to increase economic competitiveness, reduce congestion, improve environmental conditions, enhance livability, and increase quality of life in urban areas. This study considers the role that public policy initiatives could play in fostering receivers’ acceptance of U-OHD by analyzing survey data collected from potential U-OHD adopters. The paper describes the survey conducted, performs descriptive analyses of the data, analyzes the respondents’ stated willingness to participate in unassisted off-hour deliveries, estimates discrete choice models to gain insight into receivers’ decision-making processes, and analyzes the effectiveness of alternative policy scenarios. It is found that a number of policy levers can foster U-OHD: (1) public sector provision of a one-time incentive, a public recognition program, and business support services; (2) carriers providing shipping discounts to receivers of U-OHD; and (3) the creation of a Trusted Vendor Certification Program.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Samhällsbyggnadsteknik -- Transportteknik och logistik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Civil Engineering -- Transport Systems and Logistics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

freight behaviour

urban freight

incentives

Unassisted off-hour deliveries

policy

Publication and Content Type

art (subject category)

ref (subject category)