Macroscopic simulation model of a multi-stage, dynamic cargo bike-based logistics system in the supply of shopping malls in Budapest

Nowadays, it is a big challenge to handle urban freight problems. To handle these problems is a significant task worldwide, because it is important to reduce environmental pollution and the overload of the city roads to make to cities more liveable. Within the urban freight transport problems, the so-called concentrated delivery points (shopping malls, shopping areas or markets) must be highlighted, because in these places there are several shops in a relatively small area. Deliveries of this kind of points mean a heavy load for the urban roads. In 2015 we started to examine the logistics system of the shopping malls in Budapest. In our research, we developed a mesoscopic simulation model, which was presented at the Smart Cities Symposium in 2017. In our paper, we would like to present a macroscopic simulation model, which was developed from our other, mesoscopic model. This new model makes it possible to examine a special logistics system, which can provide services for nearly 2000 shops of 18 shopping mall by use of cargo bikes and electric trucks in two-stage and three-stage systems. The model generates the required number of vehicles for the multi-stage logistics systems and shows us also the performances. Based on the results, we can say that such a system can reduce environmental pollution and the load of the roads on the one hand, but on the other hand naturally they have a significant investment demand too.