Andisheh Ranjbari, Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pennsylvania State University

Title

Goods Delivery in Urban Areas: Parking Behaviors, Challenges, and Solutions

Time

1:40pm - 3:00pm

Location

1605 Tilia, Room 1103, West Village

Abstract

As e-commerce and urban deliveries spike, cities grapple with managing urban freight more actively and effectively. At the same time, delivery drivers are experiencing increasing challenges in finding available curb space to park in urban areas, which increases instances of cruising for parking, overstaying parking time, and parking in unauthorized spaces. Long/Increased parking times also result in fewer deliveries per day per vehicle and increased costs for delivery companies. Presenting findings from a field study and several ridealongs with delivery drivers, this talk will begin by providing a better understanding of delivery driver behaviors and the challenges they face in making deliveries in urban areas. Next, results from two empirical studies will be presented, offering field-tested solutions to reduce cruising for parking and delivery times: parcel lockers and curb availability information systems.

Biographical Sketch

Andisheh Ranjbari is an Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, and her work focuses on demand modeling and travel behavior analysis around urban freight, public/shared transportation, and curb space management. Prior to joining Penn State, Dr. Ranjbari was the Executive Director of the Urban Freight Lab (UFL) at University of Washington, a public-private-academic research partnership focused on developing and testing solutions around urban freight management and operation problems. Dr. Ranjbari completed her PhD in Transportation Engineering at the University of Arizona and worked as a postdoctoral research associate at University of Washington. Along with her academic preparation, she also worked as a transportation modeler at public transportation agencies in San Francisco and Seattle.