Monitoring Urban-Freight Transport Based on GPS Trajectories of Heavy-Goods Vehicles

For designing transport policy measures, it is crucial to base decisions on evidence-based insights regarding transport flows and behavior. This paper introduces practical indicators for urban transport, which can be derived from large collections of GPS trajectories of heavy-goods vehicles. The indicators framework enables cities, municipalities, and regions to gain insights into the urban transport activities in their region. We motivate our indicators based on the objectives and action plans described in the strategic plan for goods traffic of the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium. We provide a case study on data collected from the on-board units of heavy-goods vehicles, which became mandatory in Belgium as part of its dynamic road-pricing scheme in 2016. This paper contributes to the exciting new capabilities that are obtained through GPS trajectories data and the possibilities this offers for smart cities at the tactical, operational, and strategic level.