Examining the Effects of Common Carrier Lockers on Residential Deliveries

Abstract

In recent years, e-commerce has dramatically increased deliveries to residential areas. The rise in delivery vehicle activity creates externalities for the transportation system, including congestion, competition for parking space, and emissions. Common carrier lockers have emerged as a way to manage these effects by consolidating deliveries, but they remain largely untested in the United States. This thesis examines the effects of a common carrier locker placed in a residential building in downtown Seattle, Washington. An experimental design with on-street data tests the effect of the locker on dwell times and time that delivery people spend in the building. Data collected by the locker provider gives insight into the e-commerce behavior patterns of residents. Finally, a simulation model was constructed to obtain the optimal configuration of box sizes in similar lockers. The results show that the locker had a statistically significant effect on time spent within the building, but not on dwell times or curb productivity. However, dwell times for similar vehicles in this sample decreased somewhat. The simulation demonstrated that time-based policies and flexible locker designs can prove to be effective strategies for managing demand.