The Opportunities for Off-peak hour deliveries in Gothenburg - A case study addressing the stakeholder interactions

Abstract: Today, many cities are experiencing problems with deteriorating traffic conditions and congestion – particularly during the peak hours in the early mornings and afternoons. As a result, the decision-makers and stakeholders of transports are steadily realizing the importance of sustainable transport solutions. Among the different initiatives for urban freight, the concept of off-peak hour deliveries has received increased attention as a solution to more efficiently use the transport infrastructure. In most cities, the highway roads are less frequently used during the night hours – which produces great opportunities to initiate transitions of urban freight deliveries. Several off-peak trials have been conducted in cities around the world, but many cases have experienced difficulties with persuading the involved stakeholders to participate and apply the transitions on long-term. One of the main reasons is the conflicting interests of the stakeholders which still are unavoidable issues along with the transitions. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to investigate the stakeholder interactions, as well as the key factors that could enhance the implementation process. At the current state, the off-peak hour deliveries has not been conducted in the city of Gothenburg. Subsequently, there is an interest to discover the opportunities for the concept in this city. To fulfill the objectives of this case study, the relevant information is collected through semi-structured interviews with high positioned managers, researchers and specialists with skills related to urban freight transports and OPHD applications. The final results of this project demonstrated complexities among the stakeholder interactions within the inner-city area; as a result of the inconveniences created by the off-peak hour deliveries. On the other hand, there are existing key factors that could enhance this application. From an overall perspective, the findings indicated that the use of low-noise technologies, trucks with alternative fuels, and appropriate incentives have great potential to facilitate the transitions in a more successful way. The greatest opportunities lie in conditions where the benefits of the off-peak hour deliveries are instantly attained and includes less systematic changes such as in integrated carrier-receiver operations and companies with decentralized distribution systems. Essentially, if only 10-20 percent of the deliveries could be shifted, there could be several different benefits for the stakeholders involved.