The revival of water-borne transport

摘要

The paper discusses the potential of water-borne transport for urban goods distribution. The increasing demand for goods, combined with governmental restrictions within the city for improving living conditions, has resulted in the use of more and smaller trucks. This has lead to a less efficient transport system with a larger total amount of kilometres driven. Water-borne transport is presented as an alternative solution for urban goods distribution, able to contribute to a more efficient, environmental friendly transport system. The potential of water-borne transport for urban goods distribution will be presented using the city of Amsterdam as a case study. Water-borne transport is compared with other innovative urban transport systems such as rail concepts and underground freight transportation systems. A water-borne transport system is developed for the city of Amsterdam, showing the main advantages of the concept. The feasibility is shown for older cities with an existing navigable water network. However, the concept can also be integrated when planning new urban areas.