GoodTrip model application potential for solution of urban logistics problems
The Urban Mobility is the result of the interaction between people and freight movement in the city, and presents itself as one of the main challenges of large cities around the world (Brasil, 2007). When these challenges are analyzed from the viewpoint of City Logistic (Taniguchi et al, 2001), it is possible to see that the problem is the difficulty of understanding the freight transportation demand (which involves movement of goods, parcels etc.) in the urban context and its relationship with the mobility of people. In this context, Lima Jr. (2015) identified four major challenges facing the City Logistic observed during the application of focus groups that the CLUB Centro de Logística Urbana do Brasil (Brazil’s Urban Logistics Center, translated into English) has been doing the last three years in different cities of Latin America, and with greater intensity in Brazilian cities. The first challenge is relate to the Hub Cities that means cities with global participation, usually with large ports and airports, which have a number of specific urban logistics issues relevant to the global connection. This is because the intense freight flow demand through these global cities. The second challenge surpass the specific problems of city centers, especially when some preserve historical heritage. Narrow streets and vibration restrictions limit and hinder the movement of vehicles. The third challenge is the Logistics Clusters, which spreads by different neighborhoods in the city, and create intense logistics activity stains that are degrading the quality of life of their surroundings. Finally, the fourth and perhaps most important challenge is the logistics operations in the slums and communities, which in some cases account for a large portion of the area inhabited in the city. Faced with problems related to urban mobility, researchers have made efforts to develop analytical methods for the proposition of strategies and solutions to the reality in which it is intend to work. One approach toward the understanding of travel demand that has been gaining acceptance of researchers, but not explored in freight transportation studies is the Trip Chain. A Trip Chain is a Travel Behaviour approach that had an origin in the 1970s, from the spatiotemporal nature studies of Hägerstrand (Button, 2005). It is based on a theoretical framework in which the analysis of the demand for travel begins by understanding how and why the activities that motivate them are carried out in a particular time and space (Jones, 1977). It assumes that individual behavior is embedded in a complex system of constraints arising from a range of needs and requirements for human interaction (such as conventions and cultural norms, legal and organizational), which guide its decision to use of their spatiotemporal budget available for the execution of the activity / trip, in a particular environment (Schönfelder and Axhausen, 2010). Boerkamps et al (2010) discussed the application of TripChain to the context of urban transport loads. These researchers proposed a model called GoodTrip, in order to predict flow of goods and vehicles flows and outline a conceptual framework that he considered the market actors and elements of the chain of loads of supplies, with application in the Netherlands. Samimi et al (2009) explain that the GoodTrip provided reliable estimates for flows of freight and vehicles, and was used in other cases to analyze other distribution systems of alternative urban freights (eg de Jong and Ben-Akiva). These studies discussed potential sources of data for the GoodTrip, including additional research and general framework, but did not provide specific conclusions. In this context, this study aims to broaden the discussion on the application potential of GoodTrip, especially as a solution to urban logistics problems.