Light commercial vehicles destination choice: Understanding preferences relative to the number of stops and tour-based trip type

Abstract

Freight delivery modelling has made significant progress in the past few decades. In this study we propose to use an aggregate multi-step approach to gain a better understanding of the tour-based trips of light commercial vehicles in Sydney, Australia. The paper identifies preference differences in destination choice-making given by the number of stop and the tour-based trip type, defined by the total number of stops in the trip. The findings suggest that estimating a separate model for each number of stops provides a better understanding on how destination choices are made. Simulation results show how the probability of choosing a certain destination in the different tour-based trip types and number of stop changes due to variations in travel time and distance. Results show that light commercial vehicles are more sensitive to the generalised cost (defined by travel time and distance) in the first stop, and the sensitivity decreases as the trip is completed.