Freight transport is a key component of the role of roads in the national economy, particularly in urban areas, but our understanding of the urban freight transport system is very limited. Until recently, there was minimal recent data available on urban goods movement in Australia, but data collection in several States and Sydney has partially relieved this situation. This paper discusses analysis of freight data collected in the Sydney Commercial Vehicle Survey (CVS). Broad analysis of the 1991-92 CVS of the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Region was undertaken to determine the patterns and behaviour of freight carrying vehicles. The survey was in the form of a mail-out mail-back self-completion questionnaire and was undertaken by the Transport Data Centre of the Department of Transport, NSW. The majority of the paper is drawn from the principal author's thesis on `Urban freight activities in Sydney', undertaken at Monash University. Results of the CVS are discussed with specific reference to temporal patterns, trip lengths, trip durations, and the temporal distributions of pick-ups and deliveries. These factors are also discussed in the context of the Sydney network and economy, and particularly in relation to the implications for transport planning and policy. (A)
Samenvatting