‘Development of Sustainable Multimodal Transport Systems’ workshop

Date: 18 September 2024

Time: 3-6 pm

Cost: free, including coffee and refreshments

Place: University of Liverpool Management School, Chatham Street, L69 7ZH – Marketing Suite (Ground Floor)

Event

During the event, hosted by the University of Liverpool management School’s (ULMS) Centre for Supply Chain Research (CSCR) and ESG Consultants Limited, sustainable transportation experts from the ‘ERGODIC: Combined passenger and goods transportation in suburb traffic’ project will share their work to develop innovative, efficient and sustainable solutions to suburban mobility and the last mile challenge.

By attending this workshop, you will gain expert insights on the pressing challenges to urban mobility and sustainability, and the innovative green alternatives being developed by the project’s team.

The event is open a wide range of stakeholders, including:

• Public and private transport operators
• Local and regional authorities and policymakers
• Technology and data companies
• Researchers and PhD students with an interest in sustainable transportation
• Community leaders and civic organisations.

This is also an ideal networking opportunity to engage in discussions on the future of transportation and explore the societal impacts of the new systems.

Project details

As suburban living relies heavily on private vehicles for commuting and getting everyday supplies, conventional public transport and delivery methods cannot provide high levels of service as they do in urban areas.

This is due to a lack of options to complete the last leg of the journey (last mile or last kilometre), in which passengers and goods move from a transportation hub to their final destination.

As finding sustainable solutions to the last mile problem is crucial to turn the 15-minute city concept into a reality, the project seeks to develop an ambitious multimodal transport system with great potential to reduce the use of (or even replace) private vehicles with comparable services.

The new system being developed is compatible with the current public transport infrastructure, and integrates passenger and goods transport into a single and flexible network that combines:

• Electric modular vehicles for last-mile travel/delivery service: these can flexibly change capacity by adjusting the number of connected and segregated cabins that carry either passengers or goods
• Active micromobility: small, lightweight devices driven by users, such as e-bikes and electric scooters
• And cutting-edge digital technologies.

A well as maximising transportation resources and meeting the needs of the communities living in the city outskirts, the project aims contribute to a more sustainable and efficient future, by addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 5, 7 and 11.  

The project which started in late 2023, is funded by the European Commission and VINNOVA under the program Driving Urban Transitions with a total amount of £1 million (SEK 13.5 million), is expected to culminate in 2026 with a pilot in the city of Linz.

Lead by Chalmers University of Technology, the consortium includes partners from Sweden (WSP and Einride), Austria (Johannes Kepler Universityv and City of Linz) Italy (getPlus, NEXT Modular Vehicles) and the UK (University of Liverpool, ESG Consultants Limited and British and Irish Trading Alliance), with the Management School acting as the lead British research partner.

Schedule

The event will feature presentations from distinguished speakers involved in the project, form the UK’s academic (University of Liverpool) and business (ESG Consultants Limited) consortium members: 

• Professor Dongping Song is the Chair in Supply Chain Management at ULMS. He is a leading expert in data-driven logistics and transportation systems and the project’s Principal Investigator.
• Ehsan Amirnazmiafshar is a Postdoctoral Research Associate -PDRA- in Operations and Supply Chain Management at ULMS. As a a specialist in sustainable transportation, he is working as the project’s PDRA.
• Brendon Kenny is the Director of ESG Consultants Limited. He has been involved in the project from its inception, leading his organisation in the process of collecting data and engaging with stakeholders. 
• Kyle Hatchard is the Digital Innovation Lead at the Hartree Centre and Project Manager for ESG Consultants Limited.

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