Design of integrated passenger-freight transport: A multi-stakeholder perspective

Integrated passenger freight transport (IPFT) is a tactical solution that can potentially reduce travel demand and the costs of first- and last-mile services. Although the scientific interest in this topic increased in the last decade, IPFT contributions are still mostly related to the definition of a general framework. Conversely, the design of the service attributes and the evaluation of the operational performances have been object of less attention. To address such a research gap, this paper presents the results of a Delphi survey with international stakeholders. The aim is to verify the minimum requirements upon the introduction of the IPFT in both urban and rural contexts, including fare reductions for users, which are necessary to compensate for the differences as compared with passenger-only and freight-only services. The survey results indicate the necessity of an efficient service in terms of information, environmental performances, space division, and security (the last aspect refers more to passenger than to freight transport). Other attributes, such as cleanliness on board, are more debated. Policymakers and practitioners can use these findings as a benchmark for the definition of performance requirements and boundaries for designing the service. The suitability of the IPFT scheme in real-case contexts is then verified. New suburban and urban IPFT services are designed by modifying the characteristics of two existing urban and suburban bus lines that operate in the Italian provinces of Forlì-Cesena and Rimini according to both the results of the Delphi survey and the territorial specificities. The scheme’s suitability to the existing schedules is finally determined. As next steps, the new design has to be assessed through a) a stated preference survey submitted to potential users of the service; b) a supply model that verifies the matching of supply and demand under the new configuration, and c) an economic evaluation of the service, which considers the perspective of single actors.