Private vehicle-based crowdshipping for intercity express transportation: Feasibility assessment

Abstract

To support urban sustainable development, cities need innovative green logistics solutions to meet the needs of economic development. Crowdshipping is regarded as a promising sustainable freight solution. This article aims to assess the feasibility of implementing intercity express crowdshipping using private vehicle traveling. The crowdshipping carrier, who drives his or her private vehicle and travels on the intercity route, carries out the express delivery task between the regional cargo center and the dispatch center along the route. The feasibility assessment covers three parts. First, face-to-face interview and stated preference survey are used to investigate the willingness and preferences of express companies and car owners to participate in crowdshipping activities, respectively. Then, it calculates the environmental benefit and economic benefit brought by the crowdshipping mode in comparison with the traditional mode. The results show that the express companies are willing to pay 30 yuan for each car participating in the crowdshipping activities, and there are considerable numbers of car owners to support this crowdshipping activity, and this crowdshipping activity could bring positive impacts on environment as well as corporate economics. It is hoped that the research could enrich the knowledge of the development of green logistics.