New City Logistics Paradigm: From the “Last Mile” to the “Last 50 Miles” Sustainable Distribution

The distribution of goods in urban areas, together with private traffic flows, are among the main sources of energy consumption, air pollution and noise. As a consequence, in the 2000s, several EU cities started to implement logistical solutions for the sustainable city. In this context, this study addresses the implementation of a new eco-logistic system, which serves multiple adjacent cities by using electric vehicles to deliver goods of any type within their urban areas. This paper describes the results of a project developed in the province of Vicenza (northern Italy) and covering the main cities (Bassano del Grappa, Thiene, Schio and Valdagno) in the foothills (the so-called Pedemontana Veneta zone). The eco-logistic system aims to cover the last 50 miles of distribution (typical area of an Italian province) with a centralised platform that performs green deliveries with electric vehicles from/to the downtown areas. A preliminary and extensive “on field” analysis by means of door-to-door questionnaires was conducted to identify the performance required by the eco-logistic system. Therefore, the design of such a distribution system is performed to assess and define the conditions that make this solution profitable from both the economic and the environmental perspective.