Simulation of goods delivery process

Purpose – This paper claims that the parking policy is one of the most obvious tools for reducing traffic congestion, pollutant emissions and conflicts between transportation network users. The purpose of this paper is to propose and implement a strategy, via a simulation tool, for the sharing of parking places between light cars and vans for goods delivery. Design/methodology/approach – Temporal and spatial dynamic booking of on‐street parking places is described by using the multi‐agent paradigm. Main agents concerned by the sharing of parking places, their rules and interactions are implemented. Behavioral models and learning process of cognitive agents based on stated preferences collected beside the network users are designed for capturing multi‐agent interactions. Findings – By coupling a 2D traffic simulation tool and the Copert III methodology, it is possible to simulate the traffic and environmental consequences of several scenarios for different infrastructures, occupancy rate of the places reserved for goods delivery and durations of the delivery process. Research limitations/implications – Several points are under development: a 3D environment will capture with more realism the behavior of agents in a larger spatial scale and in real time. The behavioral models will be designed by stated preferences obtained from surveys containing questions coupled with pictures of possible scenarios. Practical implications – Applied in a real context, the sharing of parking places strategy shows benefits for traffic and for the environment. A decision maker can use this strategy for simulating scenarios, in the context of an urban area in particular. Originality/value – The paper demonstrates how a simulation tool based on strategy of parking place sharing can satisfy constraints of transportation network users.