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Published VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Optimization of a hierarchical hub and satellite network for urban freight on transit
npj Sustainable Mobility and Transport, Vol.2, pp.1-8
2025
Abstract
Growing urban populations drive the demand for urban goods movement, prompting interest in innovative urban logistics solutions. This study explores integrating passenger and freight transport by using public transport—the urban rail network—for parcel deliveries. We propose a three-echelon transit-based freight transport system. Parcels are initially transported by trucks from warehouses to hubs located at train stations. They are then transferred by rail to satellite stations, where smaller vehicles complete final deliveries to end destinations. The research focuses on strategic decisions pertaining to hub and satellite locations and tactical planning for vehicle routing and parcel assignments. To identify optimal satellite locations that minimize vehicle kilometers traveled, we develop an iterative heuristic algorithm. Furthermore, we assess the viability of the approach using real-world parcel delivery and rail network data in Singapore. Findings indicate that leveraging transit can significantly reduce vehicle kilometers traveled, thereby promoting sustainable urban logistics.
Details
- Title
- Optimization of a hierarchical hub and satellite network for urban freight on transit
- Authors
- Meijing Zhang - Singapore University of Technology and DesignLynette Cheah (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Publication details
- npj Sustainable Mobility and Transport, Vol.2, pp.1-8
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1038/s44333-025-00054-4
- ISSN
- 3004-8664
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
- Data Availability
- The confidential parcel delivery data is not publicly available due to privacy concerns. The code can be requested from the authors.
- Grant note
- T2-1712 / Ministry of Education - Singapore (http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001459)
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991152342402621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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