Impacts of topography and weather barriers on commercial cargo bicycle energy using urban delivery crowdsourced cycling data. (January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Giordano, Alessandro; Matthews, H. Scott; Baptista, Patrícia; Fischbeck, Paul
• Is Part Of: Sustainable cities and society. Volume 76(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-01
• Subjects: Sustainable city logistics -- Cyclelogistics -- Commercial cargo bicycles -- Crowdsourced cycling data -- Energy-use; Sustainable urban development -- Periodicals; Sustainable buildings -- Periodicals; Urban ecology (Sociology) -- Periodicals; 307.76
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2021.103326
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2210-6707

Abstract

Highlights: Used crowdsourced commercial cargo bicycle ride data for multiple European cities Hilliness intensity can reduce the professional riders' potential energy by up to 13-34% Overcoming wind could require up to 12-23% of the riders' energy use potentials Policymakers can subsidize batteries to help overcome city-specific physical barriers The required battery size varies across cities and goes from 0.1-0.8 to 1.6-2.1 kWh Abstract: Commercial cargo bicycles have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, traffic congestion, and delivery times. However, urban physical barriers and small cargo capacities could limit their uptake in city logistics. This analysis explores the effects of payload, air density, wind, and topography on commercial cargo bicycle energy-use in cities with a focus on six European capitals (Berlin, Paris, Rome, Lisbon, Oslo, and London), and is supported by an empirical model using GPS traces and hourly weather data. The study finds that city hilliness could deplete up to 13-34% of the riders' energy-use, while wind speed can negatively affect the bikes' energy-use by up to 12-23%. Air-density effects are small; however, in cold cities like Oslo, they could reduce riders' energy-use by up to 8% in wintertime. These estimates can enable future studies to assess the operational feasibility of commercial cargo bicycles and help policy makers to promote their use by subsidizing the purchase of batteries to mitigate energy-use differences across cities due to topographic or weather effects. Results reveal that, across the cities in this study, this "ideal battery size" varies from 0.1-0.8 kWh in Berlin to 1.6-2.1 kWh in Lisbon.