Go back to Carlos Daganzo's Publications PageThis paper examines the reorganization of freight transportation in the city of Venice, Italy. Most of the freight arrives from the mainland by trucks but must be carried to the final customers by boats through a network of small canals. The existence of constraints related to the widths and clearances of the canals makes it necessary to use boats of different size and capacity. The paper analyzes the change of vehicle type and the organization of the boat distribution.
Currently, lack of an adequate terminal facility prevents items offloaded from land vehicles to be stored and sorted prior to being loaded on boats. As a result, items are transshipped directly from trucks to boats. This form of operation generates delays for the vehicles (very long queues exist) and also results in inefficient boat shipments. This means not only dispatching insufficiently loaded boats with deliveries that are scattered throughout the city, but also not taking advantage of an efficient use of the different vehicle types.
A new system is thought necessary by all the actors involved, especially because a more fluid and controlled traffic flow would have a positive impact on the ecology of this unique city. An idea recently submitted to the attention of the local government by the boat carrier organization is the introduction of a new transshipment terminal.
This paper evaluates how a system with a terminal should be operated so as to take maximum advantage of the newly available sorting and storage capabilities.
A strategy is developed for the efficient use of the different boats, consistent with the introduction of the new terminal. The paper estimates the benefits of the new form of operation using simple analytical formulae and continuous approximations in lieu of detailed optimization methods.
Go back to Carlos Daganzo's Publications Page