Emerging trends for urban freight transport–The potential for sustainable micromobility

Abstract

Aim Active transportation referring to non-motorized modes of transport is promoted and popularized both in practice and in the scientific literature, while their use for urban freight transport has been largely neglected. Thus the main scope of the paper is to indicate the development potential of micromobility use in urban freight transport and to check its influence on urban sustainability. Methods The authors have hypothesized that active means of transport, with a focus on micromobility, have great development potential in freight transportation in cities. The implemented methods for analyzing the relationship between users’ characteristics, micromobility, and its impact on urban sustainable development, were logit and probit modelling. The authors’ system includes an analysis of factors connected with the topics of sustainability and micromobilty, that have met an essential scientific gap that this paper addresses. Logistic (logit) regression is used mainly for binary, ordinal, and multi-level outcomes to find the probability of success (i.e. occurrence of some event). Probit regression, however, is primarily used in binary response models and assumes the normal distribution of data. Results The main finding of the article has led the authors to the statement that active means of transport, including micromobility have great development potential in freight transportation in cities. Conclusions Knowledge of the acceptance of micromobility solutions is essential for municipal authorities in shaping the development of urban transport systems. Thus proper strategies and actions need to be prioritized to leverage the sustainability-related co-benefits of active transport.