FREILOT

A pilot to improve energy efficiency of urban freight transport.

Increasing fuel prices and effects from climate changes have brought the increase of energy efficiency to the forefront in all aspects of life. Considering Transport, the European Commission has identified it as one of the areas where the biggest energy savings are to be made: 27% by 2020.

FREILOT pilot focuses on reducing energy consumption of goods delivery vehicles in urban areas. The specific energy consumption of urban goods transport depends on many factors; vehicle performance, driver behaviour, urban geography and the road network, traffic control strategies and performance, weight of the vehicle and its load to name but a few.

Clearly no realistic single measure can address all these aspects and lead to a significant increase in energy efficiency. A holistic and integrated approach is needed combining various measures that can be implemented without excessive cost and with the necessary public acceptance.
 
The FREILOT service aims to increase energy efficiency drastically in road goods transport in urban areas through a holistic treatment of traffic management, fleet management, the delivery vehicle and the driver, and demonstrate in four linked pilot projects that up to 25% reduction of fuel consumption in urban areas is feasible.

The FREILOT service comprises following elements:

• Traffic management  - Energy efficiency optimised intersection control    
• Vehicle - Adaptive acceleration and speed limiters
• Driver - Enhanced “green driving” support
• Fleet management  - Real-time loading/delivery space booking

The service will be piloted in four European implementations: Lyon-France, Helmond-Netherlands, Krakow-Poland and Bilbao-Spain, showcasing the benefits of the service and ease to implement it in different parts of Europe.

During the pilot it will also be investigated how different schemes can be implemented in combination with FREILOT service. For example, a city could provide incentives to goods vehicles in order to persuade them to take certain routes or drive during certain times of the day. Example: Priority at intersections on chosen roads and/or during certain times of the day could be provided for goods vehicles that are equipped with acceleration/adaptive speed control.

In addition to the technical evaluation on increased energy efficiency (= reduced fuel consumption), the pilot will serve as a basis for identifying and resolving deployment enabling “non-technical” elements, such as driver acceptance, business models, cost-benefit investigation, regulatory aspects.

FREILOT is not a research activity and should be followed-up with business implementation of the FREILOT service in the rest of Europe, providing proven benefits to the stakeholders.

Duration:  2.5 Years (April 2009 - October 2011)   

Budget:  4 €M (50% supported by the European Commission)    

Partnership:  ERTICO – ITS Europe (Coordinator), VOLVO, PEEK Traffic, CTAG, CERTH, LET, Interface Transport, Cities of Lyon, Helmond, Krakow and Bilbao, Fleets: AZKAR, Nanuk, Van den Boeck Logistics and fleet operators in Krakow and Lyon.