Mode Choice Modeling for Sustainable Last-Mile Delivery: The Greek Perspective

ABSTRACT

As the private sector is under heavy pressure to serve the ever-growing e-commerce market, the potential of implementing new disruptive mobility/logistics services for increasing the level of the current last-mile delivery (LMD) services, is emerging. Vehicle automation technology, characterized by high-capacity utilization and asset intensity, appears to be a prominent response to easing this pressure, while contributing to mitigation of the adverse effects associated with the deployment of LMD activities. This research studied the perceptions of Greek end-users/consumers, regarding the introduction of autonomous/automated/driverless vehicles (AVs) in innovative delivery services. To achieve this, a mixed logit model was developed, based on a Stated Preferences (SP) experiment, designed to capture the demand of alternative last-mile delivery modes/services, such as drones, pods, and autonomous vans, compared to traditional delivery services. The results show that the traditional delivery, i.e., having a dedicated delivery person who picks up the parcels at a consolidation point and delivers them directly to the recipients while driving a non-autonomous vehicle—conventional van, bike, e-bike, e-scooter—remains the most acceptable delivery method. Moreover, the analysis indicated that there is no interest yet in deploying home deliveries with drones or AVs, and that participants are unwilling to pay extra charges for having access to more advanced last-mile delivery modes/services. Thus, it is important to promote the benefits of innovative modes and services for LMD, in order to increase public awareness and receptivity in Greece.