ITS in stedelijke distributie : een onderzoek naar de mogelijkheden en de bijdrage aan vermindering van de problematiek in de binnensteden + Bijlagenrapport. Master Thesis Universiteit Twente, Enschede.

For the conservation of a good functioning inner city several municipalities introduced measures for keeping out the lorry traffic from the inner cities and separating them from the shopping public. The aim of these measures is to improve the safety and quality of life in the inner city. Time windows and vehicle restrictions are examples of these measures, which have been meanwhile introduced in more than half of the Dutch municipalities. Because of the time windows the urban logistics mainly take place in the morning (from ±6:00am to 11:00am). In most cases there is no harmonization with neighbouring municipalities/shopping areas. This results in time windows which runs parallel to each other. This, in combination with the strongly varying vehicle restrictions (requirements with regard to dimensions, weight) produces relatively more vehicle movements in the inner cities. Carriers use more smaller vehicles, because it is no longer efficient to use large combinations. In fact, these measures have an opposite effect, that costs more effort to deliver the goods at the place of destination. Also the hours of arrival of money- and value carriers become more predictable by the window, what is not desirable because of safety reasons. Furthermore the retail trade hampers the distribution process by being present only one hour before the end of the times windows (business hours ± 10.00). Often the retail trade does not have large storage spaces, which results in more frequent supply. Eventually all this leads to a higher demand for transportation in the urban logistics, resulting in a larger chance of congestion and environmental pollution in the inner cities. In this research, the possibilities and the possible contribution of an intelligent transport system (ITS) on the reduction of the problems in the inner cities are examined. Intelligent transport systems are information- and communication technologies directed towards transport systems (passenger- and goods transport), which obtain movement information, processing and presenting them to other road users (among them, motorists, road maintenance authority and vehicle managers). the urban areas will be reduced. (Author/publisher)