SMART3R-FLITS: SMART Transport for TRavellers and Freight Logistics Integration Towards Sustainability (CUP MASTER Code: E53D23010230006) is supported by the MUR (Italian Ministry for Universities and Research) and it is financed with the PRIN 2022 programme.
Abstract: Transport sector is experiencing unprecedented changes, due to multiple factors, including developing societies with new habits and needs, the digital transition and the ever-increasing attention to sustainability, the pandemic crisis. Passenger transport demand is less predictable and more spatio-temporal scattered, while the booming of e-commerce asks for fragmented door-to-door freight deliveries. Both phenomena cause transport inefficiency, unsustainable car-based mobility pattern and poor accessibility and social exclusion, especially in suburban and rural areas. SMART3R-FLITS proposes to cope with these challenges increasing sustainability, resilience and social equity of transport planning and operation, through the integration of passenger mobility and freight deliveries that share the same vehicles operated by an innovative "Demand Responsive Transport and Logistics" (DRTL) service. We believe that DRTL service, as a shared parcel and passenger on demand transport, might achieve common objectives in terms of economic efficiency of freight logistics, environmental protection, territorial accessibility, people mobility and social equity of communities. The project will adopt a smart data-driven approach taking advantage of the increasing availability of big data in the transport sector, such as those resulting from the traces of GPS and mobile devices and social network data. The project will make geo localized spatio-temporal transport datasets available from logistics operators, passenger transport companies and mobile network providers. Smart data will feed specific spatial analysis and agent based simulations to: (1) increase the efficiency of DRT services, (2) forecast the possible integration of passengers’ mobility and freight deliveries, (3) design the possible integration of DRTL services and public transport, (4) evaluate the impact of such services on groups of users with special mobility needs and in rural low density communities, (5) evaluate the impact of mobility on the sustainability of communities.
Main goal of SMART3R-FLITS: the research group will focus on the combination of passenger and freight transport through the use of DRT as a promising solution to overcome the inefficiency of the current DRT.
Partner of SMART3R-FLITS:
University of Catania: Giuseppe Inturri (PI), Giovanni Calabrò, Vincenza Torrisi, Vera Pecorino, DIEEI (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica, Elettronica e Informatica); Matteo Ignaccolo and Michela Le Pira DICAR (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Architettura); Alessandro Pluchino and Andrea Rapisarda DFA (Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia)
University of Palermo: Marco Migliore, Giuseppe Salvo, Gabriele D’Orso, and Alessandro Emilio Capodici (Dipartimento di Ingegneria)
University of Cagliari: Chiara Garau, Mauro Coni, Francesca Maltinti, and Tazyeen Alam, DICAAR (Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Ambientale e Architettura); Massimo di Francesco, DMI (Dipartimento di Matematica ed Informatica): Paolo Nesi (Snap4City, University of Florence)
University of Enna kore: Giovanni Tesoriere, Tiziana Campisi, Dario Ticali, Antonio Russo (Facoltà di Ingegneria e Architettura)
Total Contribution: 250,000 euros
Project Duration in months: 24 (Start Date: October 18, 2023; End Date: October 17, 2025)
Partners: Municipality of Petralia Soprana (PA), Municipality of Petralia Sottana (PA), and Svimed.
Pilots: Metropolitan City of Cagliari, Municipality of Caltanissetta, Metropolitan Area of Palermo, Madonie area (Palermo)
