Estimation of the Effect of Self-Driving and En Route Preparation in Urban Parcel Delivery: The Case in Seoul

Abstract

Self-driving technology is on the verge of commercialization and is expected to be utilized in delivery services. At the same time, low efficiency and physical limitations of last mile robots (especially for non-standardized cargo, stairs, etc.) are being pointed out. In addition, as leading overseas companies design robots to complete delivery through interaction with the recipient, it may be difficult to implement the robots in delivery environments like South Korea, where most parcels are not delivered face-to-face. Therefore, this study considers a parcel delivery model in which a person, not a robot, is on-board an autonomous truck for door-to-door deliveries. This study takes three expected effects of a self-driving vehicle into consideration: (i) reduced travel time, owing to alleviation of traffic congestion; (ii) reduced service time, owing to relaxed parking restrictions; and (iii) benefits from en route preparation (planning and collecting in advance of arrival) that can be realized when a person is not required in the driver’s seat. The findings from a case study conducted in Seoul indicate that advanced self-driving capabilities and en route preparation can potentially lead to a doubling of the delivery capacity at a terminal, along with a reduction of over 40% in operating costs per box. As suggested in this study, the en route preparation activities are verified to bring benefits.