Modelling the Impacts of Transport Policies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Urban Freight Transport in Sydney

Freight transport in urban areas has few opportunities for modal shift away from road. What policy options might there be to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from road freight vehicles? A combined travel demand, traffic network and emissions model was established to test the impacts of the generic policy initiatives ‘best practice’ truck fleet fuel efficiency, general reductions in peak period traffic congestion, improved traffic management, provision of real-time traffic information, infrastructure improvements, changes to industrial land use distribution, and improved vehicle load factors. Sydney was used as a case study. Whilst most policy options showed some potential for improved emissions outcomes, the best option was to reduce vehicle load factors. Policies aimed at changing the distribution of industrial land use provided mixed results, suggesting the need for complementary measures. The model is also able to analyse emissions from private vehicles.