Urban Transport in the OIC Megacities
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chains flexible to adapt to various policies and therefore increases the uncertainty of long term
impacts on the city and commencement to urban plans (Blanco, 2014).
Successful strategies on megacities of the developed world show that in order to shape an effective
and efficient urban freight strategy it is necessary to take into account all the levels of the urban freight
system, starting from the delivery and pick up, to the routes and distribution network and facilities
available, the urban logistics system and the actors involved, the urban economy, and finally to the
national and international supply chains. A more comprehensive framework of the urban freight
system is needed to further understand why policies are more or less effective, but most importantly,
to adapt them to a wider set of cities (Blanco, 2014).
For example, off hour deliveries, traffic regulations and port gate pricing, tackle the delivery and pick
up operations. They focus on influencing the interaction between the driver and the customer. The
interventions are simple (e.g. establishing loading/unloading zone) but due to the large amount of
actors affected they require extensive communication. For example, TfL continuously creates
pamphlets and guides to educate and influence delivery and pick up activities (Blanco, 2014).
Low emission zones (LEZ) and road pricing, directly affect last mile operations3. They often face
resistance since they require the redesign of distribution networks from all affected private actors,
contracts between them and start involving managers that do not have direct interaction with the
urban context beyond its market potential. Their outcome is uncertain and they are slower to design
and implement (Blanco, 2014).
Voluntary programs, at the city or at ports and airports, aim at engaging multiple stakeholders
operating in an urban area, and drive change in hundreds of logistics systems without affecting the
urban economy. They are often precursors to specific policies (such as LEZ) and try to recognize the
diversity of the supply chains involved. They require long term commitment from all actors and
require strong institutional support and public private partnerships (Blanco, 2014).
It is important to highlight that some of the more commonly discussed policies such as restrictive
traffic and parking regulations, although effective to certain degrees, have proven difficult to scale due
to the complexity of strict enforcement, but most importantly, because cities have no control over the
demand of pickups and deliveries. Ultimately, shippers, drivers and customers, find a way to
circumvent the restriction by other means with worse consequences (e.g. use of private vehicles,
double parking). Another popular academic recommendation is consolidation and integrated city
logistics planning. These aims at reducing truck traffic by combining pickups and deliveries from
various companies serving the same area. Due to the multiple actors required these are often
successful at small scale, at the private level or as part of larger voluntary programs (Blanco, 2014).
For more information on see Appendix A1- Sustainable Urban Freight Operations, Better Air Quality
and Safety in London
3The execution and coordination of the routing and the delivery/pick up across a city is often referred to as “last mile”
operation (Blanco, 2014).
Best practice case study: Sustainable urban freight operations, better air quality and safety in
London
London is a leading example in sustainable freight operations fromwhere many lessons can be learned
and applied in OIC megacities, regardless of the differences in their wider urban environment.
London’s success lies in its integrated approach between freight, safety and traffic management along
with the enhanced public participation. It shows that when economic benefits are clearly
communicated to the operators it then becomes easier for local authorities to engage them in making
their operations more sustainable and safer.