Learning factors from experiments in Sustainable Urban Freight Transport

Abstract

In the Netherlands the cities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam are coping with problems of air quality and congestion caused by inner-city transport. The continued demand for cleaner air, especially in the inner-city, has produced multiple experiments in sustainable transport.Some of these solutions can be seen as radical innovations; however a guideline on implementing radical innovations does not exist. Innovation in the transport sector has predominantly been incremental. Radical steps in the transport regime have also been met with resistance of incumbent stakeholders. As such, the current regime needs a radical change if future goals of improving air quality should be achieved within the desired timeframe. A method to introduce radical innovation in a regime is to set-up a strategic niche, a niche that has the ultimate goal of changing the current regime. This thesis has reviewed experiments done with large electric trucks in the cities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam. These experiments both originate from the FREVUE project that strives to introduce electric freight transport in urban Europe. The main approach of this thesis has been conducting desk research on grey literature, open data from the FREVUE project, and by conducting interviews among prime stakeholders of the projects. This study finds that stakeholders possess little knowledge on Strategic Niche Management, however the three main elements in setting-up a strategic niche occur in more than one occasion in the experiments that were predominantly of a technical nature. All elements are endorsed by actions, or experiences of the stakeholders in the experiments. In addition several stakeholders stated that the enrolment of OEMs and Banks could have been helpful in building a business case and propose the use of a champion or agent of change to aid the stakeholders in their efforts.Learning can be subdivided in first order and second order learning. First order learning comprised of pure technical learning elements, such as reliability and operating range, was the main goal of the FREVUE project. Second order learning, interaction and policies, also occurred for both experiments.Even though second order learning was not the main purpose of the experiments, stakeholders verified that second order learning occurred. The contributions this study makes are practical, scientific and managerial.The building of social networks and the enrolment of more actors, led to the addition of champion theory as a method to gain access to the necessary network and to convince stakeholders to participate in the project. It also became clear that the stakeholders that were currently participating did not do so out of purely monetary reasons.