This document presents introductory reports on urban freight transport in Germany, France, the UK, and Sweden, and a summary of the discussions at the ECMT's 109th Round Table on Transport Economics. The German report presents the results of a study of the quantitative and qualitative aspects of freight transport in the Hannover area, with a special emphasis on inner-city traffic. It recommends several possible actions designed to ensure a functional freight transport system compatible with the urban environment. In 1993, the French Transport Ministry (MELTT) and environmental and energy agency (ADEME) launched a national research programme on urban freight transport, to consider especially the role of logistics in urban systems and in urban planning and traffic policies. Some results of this research, including a survey in Bordeaux, are presented. The British report gives some statistics of freight traffic flow in London and other cities, and discusses some initiatives that will affect urban freight flows, such as urban distribution centres and transhipment, and home shopping and home delivery. The Swedish report discusses the interaction between measures taken by policy makers at different levels, and by commercial market actors, to stimulate evolution towards environmentally more friendly urban freight transport.
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