Research context
As zero-emission zones expand, deliveries are transferred at hubs near the zone boundary and completed by cargo bike. The hubs and the fleet must both adapt as the size and demand of the zone change.
Hub location and fleet composition are interdependent: hub locations determine feasible delivery trips, while the available mix of cargo bikes changes where a hub is useful. This thesis treats both choices together.
Research questions
- Where should hubs be located, and which mix of cargo bikes should operate from them, to serve a zero-emission zone effectively?
- How should these choices change as the zone grows, and how much should an operator commit to early rather than adjust later?
What you will do
- Model a zero-emission zone and how its deliveries grow and change as the zone expands.
- Optimize hub placement and cargo-bike fleet mix jointly.
- Show how the preferred hub-and-fleet plan changes over time and how far an operator should commit in advance using Amsterdam's zone plans.
Background
The project suits a student interested in optimization and decision-making under uncertainty who is comfortable programming, for example in Python. Exposure to facility location or fleet planning is useful, together with an interest in logistics and city policy.
Project setting
The work uses Amsterdam's zero-emission-zone plans within the PROSPER research programme (TKI Dinalog) at ORBIT Lab, in partnership with Pon Holdings, Tring Tring, Gemeente Amsterdam, and AMS Institute.