Russell G. Thompson

University of Melbourne | MSD · Department of Infrastructure Engineering

E-commerce's rapid expansion has transformed consumer shopping habits and business operations. While it offers the potential to reduce customer trips, it has also contributed to increased vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) by delivery vehicles, resulting in elevated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, especially in last-mile deliveries. This paper prop...

An emerging stream of Crowd-Shipping (CS) solutions focuses on existing momentum in Public Transportation (PT) to ship viable delivery packages by PT passengers. Few studies have explored the package delivery acceptance behavior of passengers engaged in PT-based CS initiatives while passengers' behavioral intention to participate (i.e., engage) is...

The subject of this research is to model the probability of accepting package delivery tasks in Crowd-Shipping (CS) systems focusing on shipping packages by Public Transportation (PT) passengers. Real-world implementation of such a PT-based CS initiative requires a proper grasp of the behavior of crowd shippers, package receivers, and senders, amon...

One of the stepping stones towards the physical internet is synchromodality, which enables a seamless, flexible, and resilient interconnected network for door-to-door service. As its name suggests, synchronization is the core of synchromodality, but its concept is not yet clearly understood. This paper presents a classification of the literature on...

Post-disaster waste clean-up systems are complex and expensive operations that need to consider multiple stakeholders with different objectives. We propose a mixed-integer programming model that models the waste clean-up operations as a two-echelon system. The model decides on the location of waste processing facilities, the use of demolition resou...

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the goods distribution patterns for both Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Customer (B2C) segments. This paper investigates the pandemic impacts on B2B and B2C parcel delivery changes in the Sydney metropolitan area. For this purpose, initially, the spatial pattern of the parcel delivery in 2020 has been c...

Engineering human-centric urban transport systems should be carried out using information technology in forecasting traffic and passenger flows. One of the most important objects of urban transport systems’ progress is modeling patterns of transport flows and their distribution on the road network. These patterns are determined by the subjective ch...

Moving freight by intermodal services instead of road services not only saves a large amount of fuel but also improves sustainability. This paper presents a sustainable Intermodal Freight Transportation Network Design Problem (IFTNDP) in which the effectiveness of a new short-term policy, called controlled rail tariff discounting policy, is evaluat...

The COVID-19 pandemic and its following restrictions changed the volume and patterns of Public Transport (PT) trips in the Greater Sydney area. This study explores the trip volume changes by applying comparative and statistical analyses on hourly PT fare card (Opal) transactions data for trips in 2019, 2020 and 2021 (up to March). The findings show...

Toll roads constructed under public-private-partnerships (PPP) are very common around the world. Due to the high capital cost invested and high risks associated with subsequent returns, investors are concerned about future revenue. Charging high tolls from freight vehicles is a common practice, especially in urban areas. As a result, freight vehicl...

Consolidated delivery schemes are suggested as policy solutions to address negative externalities caused by growth in last mile deliveries. However, freight consolidation initiatives lack a focus on financial viability early in project design. Dependence on government subsidies is a typical long-term outcome. Thus, this study presents a theoretical...

There have been various initiatives to consolidate freight deliveries. Researchers have been primarily concerned with assessing the impact upon freight carriers. This study addresses a subject that has received limited attention: Receiver-led delivery consolidation (RLC) policy. The study aims to characterise freight receivers’ preferences for a RL...

Due to the great potential to enable collaboration and improve consolidation, auctions have been identified as a possible effective option to improve the efficiency of instant delivery. Instant delivery markets are complex and dynamic systems influenced by highly random demand. Conventional bidding strategies require perfect market information and...

Creating a cityscape conducive to a safe and efficient pedestrian experience requires a holistic understanding of the relationship between the built structures of a city and the movement of individuals within it. To empower policy makers to design, implement, and successfully deliver measures aimed at reducing footpath congestion and improving pede...

Based on the Internet of Things, standard coordination protocol, smart containers and other key foundations, the Physical Internet (PI) provides an interconnected, shared and adaptable logistics system, which has great potential to significantly increase the reliability and resilience of supply chains. In this paper, we assess the effectiveness of...

Growing levels of congestion resulting from urbanization combined with increased levels of service demanded by receivers is providing enormous challenges for improving the efficiency and sustainability of urban freight systems. To address these issues, there is a need to develop and implement schemes for increasing vehicle consolidation levels as w...

Waste clean-up after a disaster is one of the most critical tasks in the response stage of disaster management. We develop a model to minimise the cost and duration of disaster waste clean-up considering using Temporary Disaster Waste Management Sites (TDWMSs), which can store and process waste before it is sent to the final disposal sites. The pro...

Stakeholder acceptance of any transport policy is crucial for its successful implementation and sustainability. Many initiatives have failed in the past mostly due to stakeholder non-acceptability. As a result, the multi-stakeholder approach towards solving transportation problems is essential for sustainable transportation in the future. This stud...

This paper presents a novel approach to assessing a maturity level in terms of formulation and implementation of sustainable integrated passenger and freight transport strategies. Proposed by the authors model also enables evaluating the state of the local government (city administration) in terms of the results of undertaken actions. The tool was...

Abstract Trucks generate more externalities (environmental and social) than passenger vehicles, especially when trucks divert off freeways. When toll charges increase, such as the significant recent rise in Mel-bourne, Australia, more trucks tend to avoid toll roads (quality roads), generating more externalities. This diversion adds sub-stantial ne...

Nowadays’ on-demand logistics operations are carried out on separate delivery networks from competitive contractors, with redundant resources and high costs. This article proposes a new paradigm to deal with industrial and societal challenges, developing an auction-enabled collaborative routing mechanism for omnichannel on-demand logistics in a rea...

Disaster waste clean-up after large disasters is one of the core activities at the recovery stage of disaster management, which aims to restoring the normal functioning of the disaster affected area. In this paper we considered a waste clean-up system consists of (i) demolition operation, (ii) collection of waste from customer nodes to temporary di...

Current courier networks in metropolitan areas are characterised by utilising fleets of vans that perform collection and distribution routes independently. This results in long stem distances, low load factors and high environmental costs. Joint delivery systems have the potential to reduce the distances of pick-up and drop-off routes. In this cont...

Solid waste management (SWM) is a key issue for sustainable development and environment protection, and waste collection and transportation (WCT) is one of the most important steps in managing solid waste. A well-designed SWM system with optimised location and capacity of waste transfer stations (WTSs) and final disposal facilities (FDFs) plays a c...

This article focuses on decision making for retrofit investment of road networks in order to alleviate severe consequences of roadside tree blowdown during tropical cyclones. The consequences include both the physical damage associated with roadside trees and the functional degradation associated with road networks. A trilevel, two-stage, and multi...

Location analysis for a consolidation facility is a multi-criteria challenge, compounded by spatial constraints in real-world scenarios such as those found in inner-city areas. However, most decision support models in location studies of consolidation facilities are limited to numerical computation or multi-criteria analysis while ignoring spatial...

High toll charges force trucks to avoid quality roads, leading to increased emissions. We propose a model in this study to find an effective toll charging scheme to minimize total network vehicular emissions while maintaining reasonable revenue for investors. A bi-level modeling approach is used, where toll prices for multi-class vehicles are decid...

The concept of city logistics has been used to describe the process of transportation and logistics optimization as performed by companies in the scope of urban areas by considering the environment, traffic and energy consumption aspects. This research identifies the gaps in city logistics research from actors, issues, method aspects and possible a...

Freight carriers experience major challenges while operating in highly dense inner-city areas. Timely deliveries are crucial for the success of businesses and for the long-term economic growth of metropolitan areas. Previous freight studies have paid little attention to the characteristics of freight movements in a highly dense urban context. Accor...

This paper explores the relationships between the behaviour of road users, road environment, traffic characteristic and law enforcement. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between geometric designs of a roundabout on the characteristics of traffic passing through the roundabout. A case study research of Oman's roundabou...

In this paper, an optimisation model for recovery planning of road networks is presented in which both social and economic resilience is aimed to be achieved. The model is formulated as a bi-level multi-objective discrete network design problem which forms a non-convex mixed integer non-linear problem. Solved by a Branch and Bound method, the solut...

There is a considerable degree of inefficiency relating to the transport of general freight within large metropolitan areas. Freight is either transported by hire and reward carriers or the business producing the product, known as ancillary or own account transport. As ancillary transport is not a core function of the business it is common that thi...

Recently a range of new information based technologies have been developed that create opportunities to implement more integrated and dynamic City Logistics solutions. Sensor networks and demand models can assist in advancing understanding and the prediction the negative impacts of freight on human health that can be used in evaluation. Advances in...

Efficient and reliable freight delivery and pickup services are important for the functioning of businesses in the inner-city area as well as consumption of product and services for residents, visitors and employees. The study investigated the delivery activities of freight carriers in Melbourne, Australia. Responses were collected from 55 freight...

There is an urgent need to develop policy solutions to the negative externalities caused by last mile deliveries, especially in increasingly high-density urban areas. The Receiver-led delivery consolidation (RLC) policy has the potential to significantly reduce the number of deliveries to receivers. However, empirical evidence shows wide variance i...

The article entitled "Modeling access to public transport in urban areas," [1] contains similar material from a published journal article "Public Transport Accessibility in Metropolitan Areas: A New Approach Incorporating Population Density," [2] which has been cited in the text. However, the purpose of this corrigendum is to emphasize the differen...

This study focuses on the route selection problem of multimodal transportation: When facing a shortage of containers, a transport plan must be designed for freight forwarders that realizes the optimal balance between transportation time and transportation cost. This problem is complicated by two important characteristics: (1) The use of containers...

Couriers undertaking deliveries in Central Business Districts (CBDs) often have difficulty conducting efficient routes due to the uncertainty associated with the availability of loading zones. Delivery routes for courier vehicles operating in central city areas involve a combination of driving and walking paths for delivering goods to multiple rece...

Truck traffic is a crucial factor that results in pavement damage. The increasing demand of freight transport contributes to rising truck volumes. In some countries there is a trend toward using larger vehicles, and road authorities are concerned about their effect on pavement because of the lack of pavement maintenance funding. This paper investig...

Cross-border corridors with proper conditions, facilities and institutions are one solution for reducing transport costs and times for landlocked developing countries. The stakeholders of cross-border corridors such as roads, railways, and ports, manage their own infrastructure, hence, stakeholders may desire to gain more benefit by obtaining more...

Containerised freight is a key component of global and urban trade. Empty containers are a necessary outcome of such trade and have operational costs close to that of full containers yet are not a source of revenue as the latter is. A literature review revealed regional repositioning to be a complex problem due to a multitude of interacting parts a...

Freight carriers, receivers and citizens in the inner-city area suffer the most from issues impacting last mile delivery due to exacerbated traffic congestion, limited parking and unsustainable delivery vehicles. Freight consolidation policies offer a sustainable solution to address these problems. The freight vehicles used in the consolidated deli...

In this study, the authors employ machine learning to develop a new solution method for solving a tri-level network protection problem. In the upper-level, the planner aims to minimise the impact of the interdictor's attempt to disrupt a road network through protection activities. At the middle-level, however, the interdictor seeks to maximise the...

The condition of road networks which connect disaster affected areas and final disposal sites has a critical role in the management of disaster waste. In this paper, we present a two-stage framework to estimate the overall reliability and failure modes of a disaster waste management system considering the reliability of each route involved in the r...

There have been rising concerns that freight trucks are diverting off toll roads onto arterial roads, in order to avoid toll charges. This paper presents the development of a freight route model which can advise truck drivers on the optimum route to take between an origin and destination. This model considers various factors when determining optima...

This paper aimed at identifying the factors that influence truck fleets’ willingness to purchase alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) in China. An investigation was conducted in Jiangsu province to evaluate the truck fleets’ characteristics and preferences by structured questionnaire survey of 288 truck fleets. By establishing logistic regression model...

The management of disaster waste is one of the most critical tasks associated with recovery after a disaster. Having a general idea of the required capacity, cost and target clean-up time while considering the uncertainties involved in the system before the detailed plan of a disaster waste clean-up system is significant. Reliability analysis is a...

Determining efficient routes for couriers in central city areas is becoming more challenging due to growing levels of congestion. New technologies allow on-street loading zones to be booked to reduce waiting times and circulation. Couriers when planning deliveries need to consider both driving and walking routes to optimise their activities. A two-...

This chapter investigates how post‐disaster waste collection problems can be regarded as a Bi‐level Location‐Routing Problem (B‐LRP). To solve this problem, three heuristic algorithms have been developed in MATLAB. A Genetic Algorithm is applied to solve the upper‐level problem, which is a location problem. The Greedy Algorithm was used to find the...

This chapter highlights the results of an observational study undertaken in Melbourne's CBD for the use of on‐street loading zones by freight vehicles. The observational study aimed to develop a better understanding of the usage and efficiency of parking and loading activities by freight vehicles, especially light commercial vehicles in the central...

Determination of efficient distribution routes in central city areas is a challenging task. This chapter describes a multi‐modal model developed for determining the optimal on‐street loading zones for trucks to use to minimize delivery costs taking into account both travel time and distance costs. The unique aspect of this model is that it incorpor...

Recent developments in digital‐based technologies such as sensor networks as well as alternative fuel vehicles such as electric vans present many exciting opportunities for enhancing city logistics. This chapter describes how developments in simulation and optimization models are being applied to facilitate the implementation of contemporary concep...

Road freight movement in Australia is significantly larger than the other transport modes and is expected to grow rapidly in the near future. This chapter aims to analyze freight movement data in Australia, especially within the Melbourne metropolitan area, and to understand the current nature of urban freight patterns. Freight generation/attractio...

Disasters can produce a substantial amount of waste that can threaten the capacity of waste management systems. This paper presents a methodology for estimating waste accumulation caused by disasters considering the uncertainty of the timing and scale of disasters that can be used to estimate the return period and the reliability of the disaster wa...

Accessibility measures have been recognized as valuable input for decision support tools for land-use and transport planning. However, despite the relatively large number of available measures outlined in the literature, they are not widely used in planning practice, particularly in non-motorized transport modelling. Furthermore, the concept of ava...

The distribution activities of fresh produce by retail and wholesale trade industries generate a large volume of freight movements in urban areas. Recently, the local government in Melbourne, Australia have relocated the fruit & vegetable wholesale market from a centrally located suburb: West Melbourne to Epping, a suburban area on the fringe of Gr...

Assessment of the criticality of the components of an infrastructure network has received considerable attention within the context of technological failures and terrorist attacks. However, less effort has been spent on this subject within the context of natural disasters, especially tropical cyclones. This study evaluated the criticality of the co...

This article offers an initial overview of urban freight transport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with respect to its operational parameters and main challenges encountered. The study provides a detailed description of the various classes of freight vehicles, type of products transported, tracking and monitoring technologies based on responses received fr...

The paper discusses a multi-criteria decision-making model to identify costs due to time-windows based vehicle entry restrictions as percentage of product retail price. The study was done for two Indian supply chains in carbonated beverage, and fashion and clothing product categories from retailer’s, supplier’s and 3PL logistics player’s perspectiv...

Physical inactivity has become a major public health challenge in recent decades, and active travel can contribute to more sustainable and healthy travel habits. Walking as a mode of transportation can provide health benefits, and the impact of the built environment on physical activity has been highlighted in numerous studies. This paper introduce...

Atmospheric emissions of anthropogenic origin are one of the most important problems in cities. A particularly discrete ecological footprint in urban environment is made by urban freight transport. This problem has become the key challenge for all stakeholder groups involved in freight transport in urban areas. Over the recent years, there has been...