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Stakeholder-Specific Data Acquisition and Urban Freight Policy Evaluation Evidence Implications and New Suggestions
Stakeholder-Specific Data Acquisition and Urban Freight Policy Evaluation Evidence Implications and New Suggestions
Stakeholder-Specific Data Acquisition and Urban Freight Policy Evaluation Evidence Implications and New Suggestions
To cite this article: Valerio Gatta & Edoardo Marcucci (2016): Stakeholder-specific data
acquisition and urban freight policy evaluation: evidence, implications and new suggestions,
Transport Reviews, DOI: 10.1080/01441647.2015.1126385
Article views: 49
1. Introduction
Efficient and sustainable urban freight transport (UFT) is fundamental for city develop-
ment. It supports urban lifestyles, promotes industry competitiveness, attracts and helps
retaining high-value industrial and trading activities (Anderson, Allen, & Browne, 2005).
At the same time, however, it also produces negative effects impacting on other urban
vital functions (e.g. reduced accessibility, decrease attractiveness of urban area, etc.).
Specific examples of the negative impacts produced by UFT are: air and noise pollution,
traffic safety, increased length and lowered reliability of deliveries and passenger transport
(Macharis & Melo, 2011). The definition of UFT usually includes movements of goods ge-
nerated by local business, deliveries and collections of finished and intermediate goods,
mail and waste. The increase in customised deliveries has made cities progressively
more dependent on transportation systems (Dablanc, 2007). Additionally UFT is charact-
erised by an intrinsic and high heterogeneity. Also within a single city, delivery times, ship-
ment size, shipment frequency, service quality may drastically differ for each business
sector, sub-sector or even distribution chain (Dablanc, 2011; Danielis, Rotaris, & Marcucci,
2010). One can safely say that UFT is heterogeneous and complex due to the derived
demand nature of urban freight services that are specific to each urban economy which
is commonly characterised by dissimilar weight of the various economic sectors that are
present (e.g. industry, services, public and private conglomerates, small retail shops, etc.).
Correspondingly there are also some similarities between different urban logistic
chains. Among these the most relevant are: independent retailing and the informal
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sector, chain retailing and commercial sectors, food markets, parcel transports and
express services and home deliveries (Dablanc, 2011).
Various stakeholders are involved. They interact, compete and, sometimes, cooperate.
Each stakeholder often has its own, at times, conflicting objectives (Quak, 2011). It is diffi-
cult to define, deploy and make acceptable innovative solutions capable of simultaneously
increasing urban goods efficiency, reducing their environmental impacts and guarantee-
ing self-financial sustainability. This is even truer when pursuing medium/long-run sustain-
ability in the absence of dedicated public funding. One has to acknowledge that UFT
sustainability/unsustainability is often dependent upon the specific stakeholders involved
and their perception of their activity/role. The complexity described is often aggravated
when a possible solution from one stakeholder’s point of view represents a new and insur-
mountable problem from another (Browne & Allen, 1999).
Local policy-makers, operating under a re-election constraint (Marcucci, Marini, & Ticchi,
2005), having to deal with this complex framework populated by heterogeneous stake-
holders, face a daunting task when conceiving, defining and trying to implement new
intervention policies. In fact, they have to be, at the same time, both effective in pursuing
economic, environmental and societal objectives as well as acceptable by a majority of sta-
keholders. Given these conditions, it becomes strategically relevant to perform an ex-ante
in-depth policy evaluation with the intent of forecasting the likely effects on the different
stakeholders impacted. This is fundamental to foresee the prospective reactions to the
intervention policy-makers want to introduce.
Data-driven policy evaluation based on quantitative methods is progressively acquiring
a predominant position in this field. This is both due to the ex-ante and ex-post evaluation
that this approach consistently makes available as well as for its analytical scenario-assess-
ment capabilities. The concurrent need for an adequate treatment of data and stakeholders’
heterogeneity justifies an explicit joint focus on data-acquisition strategies and on the
specific stakeholders involved. While a stakeholder-specific data acquisition seems
natural in all those cases where local authorities want to adopt distinct policy instruments
for alternative subsets of stakeholders, this is also needed when homogeneous policies
impacting different stakeholders are implemented since it helps evaluating the different
impacts on heterogeneous stakeholders. This last point can be of vital importance.
The paper aims at investigating the relevance, the needs and the implications of the
data-acquisition process in the realm of UFT policy evaluation by combining a focused
TRANSPORT REVIEWS 3
review with an original research study. It reviews recent contributions that have adopted
alternative methods to deal with the ex-ante policy assessment. Additionally it reports an
illustrative case study evidencing policy implications of alternative data acquisition
approaches in a stated preference (SP) framework that represents the most frequently
adopted methodological approach when studying behavioural policy impacts. To the
best of our knowledge, the example proposed, where a stakeholder-specific multi-stage
efficient design is developed, constitutes an innovation in the field. Moreover, the sys-
tematic comparison between a stakeholder-generic data-acquisition process and a stake-
holder-specific data-acquisition process demonstrates the practical relevance of the issue
raised and provides a quantitative measure of the potential distortions in policy evalu-
ation. Results show that when adopting a stakeholder-generic approach, no data model-
ling can recoup the valuable information on the behavioural impact of alternative policy
interventions a stakeholder-generic data-acquisition process could have ensured.
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The paper is structured as follows. Section 2 describes the procedure used to select the
UFT-related literature specifically dealing with policy-evaluation methods and discusses
the respective data acquisition procedures. The SP case study is illustrated in Section
3. Here, two alternative data-acquisition strategies are discussed. Their alternative policy
implications are shown by comparing the econometric results obtained. Section 4
concludes.
the papers included in this group are from the 2012–14 period with an average of more
than 15 papers per year with respect to an average of four for the 2005–11 period thus
testifying a rising interest.
The 78 policy-related papers are additionally split in five different classes according to
the different methodological approach adopted. This helps concentrating on the alterna-
tive data-acquisition processes that are generally correlated to the methodological choices
performed. The categories used to partition the papers considered are the following: (1)
case studies (32%); (2) multi-criteria analysis (9%); (3) personal critical assessment (21%);
(4) simulation (26%); (5) SP (13%). Table 1 reports all the papers considered for each class.
Since scientific quality (i.e. ISI web of knowledge source) has to be complemented by
relevance and coverage, additional papers are included on the base of the authors’ know-
ledge and personal beliefs. The choice ensures the inclusion of conceptually, practically
and thematically relevant papers within the classes identified.
In what follows, for each class, the papers reported constitute the most illustrative
examples with specific attention paid to alternative stakeholders considered and data-acqui-
sition methods. An in-depth analysis is performed on SP studies for three main reasons: (1) SP
studies are acquiring an increasing role especially with respect to ex-ante policy evaluation;
(2) SP data acquisition is costly, time-consuming and requires a meticulous procedure to
ensure the quality and robustness of the policy-evaluation process performed; (3) this
paper proposes an efficient, robust and policy relevant SP methodology for a stakeholder-
specific data-acquisition process. The rising role of SP methods is mainly due to the much
appreciated capability this methodological approach can provide with respect to the
TRANSPORT REVIEWS 5
Giuliano, Holliday, and and Woxenius (2008), and Hodge (2013), Hensher, and Battellino
O’Brien (2013), Dablanc (2008), Munuzuri, Grosso, (2006); and Hensher
Lindholm and Browne Macário, Galelo, and Cortes, and Guadix and Puckett (2005)
(2013), Motraghi Martins (2008), Dablanc (2013), Anand, Yang,
(2013), Regue and (2007), Holguin-Veras Van Duin, and
Bristow (2013), Ville, et al. (2005) and Tavasszy (2012),
Gonzalez-Feliu, and Munuzuri, Larraneta, Deflorio, Gonzalez-
Dablanc (2013), Allen, Onieva, and Cortes Feliu, Perboli, and
Browne, and Cherrett (2005) Tadei (2012),
(2012a), Cidell (2012), Motraghi and
Ferguson, Maoh, Ryan, Marinov (2012),
Kanaroglou, and Munuzuri, Cortes,
Rashidi (2012), Grosso, and Guadix
Lindholm and (2012), Teo,
Behrends (2012), Taniguchi, and
Browne and Gomez Qureshi (2012), van
(2011), McLeod and Duin and van der
Cherrett (2011), Heijden (2012),
Sathaye, Harley, and Boussier, Cucu, Ion,
Madanat (2010a), and Breuil (2011),
Sathaye, Horvath, and Yang and Moodie
Madanat (2010b), (2011), Crainic,
Quak and de Koster Ricciardi, and Storchi
(2009), Marquez and (2009), Friesz,
Salim (2007), Quak Mookherjee, HoIguin-
and de Koster (2007) Veras, and Rigdon
and Finnegan, Finlay, (2008) and Holguin-
O’Mahony, and Veras (2008)
O’Sullivan (2005)
replicating the experience elsewhere. These articles usually provide in-depth analysis of
both the various stakeholders involved as well as the data portraying the main charact-
eristics of the case considered.
Österle, Aditjandra, Vaghi, Grea, and Zunder (2015) represent an illustrative example of
best practices and case studies with respect to qualitative policy evaluation, data acqui-
sition and stakeholder engagement. With respect to the city of Como, the authors describe
the implementation of the urban consolidation centre ‘Merci in Centro’ established in
2009. The paper describes and clarifies the application of a design and monitoring frame-
work developed by the Asian Development Bank (2007) to engage different local freight
stakeholders within the planning process of an innovative city logistics project. In particu-
lar, the structured consultation process fosters stakeholders to share their aspirations
accounting for the differences in their respective priorities. Lindholm and Browne (2013)
report alternative methods for stimulating urban interaction between stakeholders and
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local authorities with respect to possible partnership approaches when dealing with inno-
vative policy implementation.
Holguín-Veras, Aros-Vera, and Browne (2015) analyse the role interactions among
different freight agents have in influencing supply chain’s response to pricing-based
policies. In particular, effective transport policies should be based on a robust under-
standing of the heterogeneous behaviour of the population impacted. The paper
adopts a case-study approach on pricing policies aimed at influencing both carriers
(three projects considered) and receivers (two projects examined). The analysis con-
ducted is subsequently used to confirm (mostly)/falsify the hypothesis the authors
made ex-ante deriving them from economic theory, literature analysis and personal
research experience.
The setup of an urban consolidation centre is discussed by Ville et al. (2013) with
respect to the case of Vicenza (Italy). The paper, analysing the strong and daring regu-
lations implemented, discusses the likely effects and the legal risks deriving from such
measures for other European cities. The paper investigates the preferences and moti-
vations of the different stakeholders involved; it reviews the court decisions that ruled
in favour of the complaint with respect to the extremely strict restrictions imposed. The
Vicenza case has set a Europe-wide precedent with respect to the restrictions that can
and cannot be imposed to freight transport vehicles’ accessing city centres.
2012). Frequently, stakeholders participate only at the beginning or at the end of the
evaluation process. Usually they are involved in the preliminary stages to collect infor-
mation needed for building an initial evaluation framework. They are, subsequently,
involved at the end of the evaluation process so to obtain a feedback on the results.
Macharis and Bernardini (2015) review 276 publications concerning the use of multi-cri-
teria decision analysis for transport projects evaluation. Only in a few cases, stakeholder
involvement is considered crucial and is included in the whole analysis via a well-struc-
tured procedure.
Macharis (2004) proposes a multi-stakeholder multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA) differing
from classical multi-criteria with respect to the stakeholder-specific data acquisition
process used. Macharis, Van Hoeck, Verlinde, Debauche, and Witlox (2011) conduct a
MAMCA for assessing night-time deliveries for urban distribution in Belgian cities. After
defining alternative policy measures to be evaluated and identifying the stakeholders
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involved, the most critical step is the selection of the policy-evaluation criteria and their
respective weights. The criteria are the stakeholder-specific goals and the weights
reflect the importance the stakeholder attaches to each objective. An overall analysis pro-
duces a classification of the alternatives considered while a sensitivity analysis can reveal
the robustness of the results.
2.4. Simulation
Papers in this category generally rely on theoretical models and perform numerical
computations through simulated data to verify the assumptions made and assess the
results.
Holguin-Veras (2008) employs an economic model to estimate the impact of alternative
policies, aiming at fostering off-hour deliveries, on stakeholders’ profits. In particular, the
Author proposes a set of equations, in the case of both independent and integrated
carrier–receiver operations, through which the necessary conditions for off-hour deliveries
feasibility can be determined. This scheme is used to evaluate alternative policies (i.e.
freight road pricing and/or financial incentives) so that one can simulate various scenarios
for fostering the shift to off-peak deliveries. Real-life cost estimates are also used to check
the realism of the model proposed.
Friesz et al. (2008) develop a dynamic pricing model for freight services within a game
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Looking at the recent literature one notices that stakeholder-specific data acquisition is
performed in different ways. The articles reported hereafter provide examples of this.
Hensher and Puckett (2005) report a first example of quantitative policy evaluation
based on SP techniques explicitly considering different stakeholder types and interaction
modelling. The authors propose an advanced Interactive Agency Choice Experiment (IACE)
building on previous research by Hensher and Chow (1999). The approach is used to
model the interdependencies between stakeholders along a supply chain. The intent is
to provide insights with respect to the most appropriate incentives policy-makers
should use to reduce traffic congestion. The authors consider a multi-stakeholder
supply chain (i.e. supplier, freight firm and receiver). They require respondents to indicate
the most preferred among a set of mutually exclusive distribution networks and strategies.
The interviewee is prompted to perform this choice both unconditionally and conditional
on the likelihood that the other stakeholder is willing to adopt the same distribution str-
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that the authors follow a stakeholder-specific data acquisition since they develop and test
different choice scenarios for different stakeholders.3 In fact, the scenario developed con-
tains stakeholder-specific attributes. The authors use scenario cards to ask interviewees
about the ranking of each of the four cards shown. Each attribute has two levels only
with the first being the status quo situation and the second being the qualitative effect a
urban consolidation centre would presumably have on the status quo situation.
Domínguez, Holguín-Veras, Ibeas, and dell’Olio (2012) report the results in two exp-
eriments conducted in Barcelona and Santander aimed at testing receivers’ willingness
to adopt new off-peak delivery policies and the establishment of an urban consolidation
centre. A SP survey, based on an efficient experimental design, investigates the impact
each variable has in influencing receivers’ decision to accept the policies considered.
Both policies are tested separately and the degree of acceptance is evaluated for each
scenario. The efficient experimental design rests on one pilot only to obtain a priori
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values for the attribute coefficients. For estimation purposes, 200 valid questionnaires
are acquired.
It is important to recall that recent methodological advancements in modelling indiv-
idual choices have produced new research opportunities that have opened the door to
a deeper analysis of choice procedures and increased their informative potential (Frisch-
knecht, Eckert, Geweke, & Louviere, 2014). However, independently of the sophistication
of the estimation methodologies employed on the data acquired, end-results will
always be strictly dependent on the quality of the available data. These general consid-
erations naturally extend to all research fields and are also pertinent to UFT policy-
evaluation issues. Administering UFT policy-focused questionnaires is costly and difficult.
Small samples are generally available for estimation purposes. This should reverberate on
the experimental design choice. Efficient experimental designs represent the best sol-
ution. The advantages of adopting an efficient design strategy are well documented in
the literature (Bliemer & Rose, 2005; Huber & Zwerina, 1996; Sandor & Wedel, 2001). More-
over, it is important to note that SP techniques are specifically useful whenever undifferen-
tiated policies are implemented with respect to a heterogeneous sample of stakeholders. If it
is often politically advisable to implement homogeneous policies due to acceptability con-
straints, nevertheless one has to be aware that their relative appreciation can be highly dif-
ferentiated if the population impacted is composed of different stakeholders characterised
by heterogeneous preferences and interests. In this case, one should test homogeneous pol-
icies in terms of attributes while accounting for stakeholder heterogeneity.
To sum up, for UFT policy-evaluation purposes, it is appropriate and desirable to have:
(1) multi-stage efficient experimental design (e.g. the a priori values for the attribute coef-
ficients should be updated an appropriate number of times so to enjoy the beneficial
effects this technique is capable of producing in terms of attribute significance and/or
reduction in sample size needed); (2) stakeholder-specific data acquisition process (e.g.
the efficient experimental design should be optimised for each stakeholder considered).
An example of a stakeholder-specific multi-stage efficient design is reported in Gatta
and Marcucci (2014). The authors discuss the implications heterogeneity4 among own-
account, retailers and transport providers have from a policy-maker’s perspective. In par-
ticular the data acquired helped defining different policies that would have an equal
impact on all agents’ utilities while accounting for their heterogeneous preferences.
More details on the data acquisition process are available in Marcucci, Stathopoulos,
TRANSPORT REVIEWS 11
Gatta, and Valeri (2012) where an in-depth description of the survey instrument develop-
ment process is reported.
The case study refers to a SP survey administered in Rome’s limited traffic zone between
September 2009 and February 2010 aimed at eliciting stakeholders’ preferences with
respect to possible UFT policy variations. In the late 80s, access to a 5-km2 area in the
city centre was restricted for passengers to non-resident vehicles. Subsequently a specific
legislation limited entrance to passenger and freight vehicles alike, both resident and non-
resident. The constraints essentially referred to Euro-vehicle standards. A yearly access fee
of 565€ was, when the questionnaire was administered, levied for each vehicle; time
windows applied, albeit not systematically enforced, to freight vehicles while numerous
exemptions were contemplated (Stathopoulos et al., 2011).
The aim of the policy tested is to increase the effectiveness of the urban freight distri-
bution in the area considered by using the instruments all the stakeholders consider both
appropriate and acceptable. Retailers, transport providers and own-account stakeholders
constitute the level of disaggregation generally adopted in investigating UFT policies
(Marcucci, Gatta, Valeri, & Stathopoulos, 2013). The first two stakeholders are well ident-
ified in the literature and the paper concentrates on them.
Attribute definition, selection and customisation are discussed in previous papers
where a detailed description of the Bayesian efficient experimental design developed is
also reported (Marcucci, Gatta, Stathopoulos, & Valeri, 2011, 2013; Marcucci, Gatta,
Valeri, et al., 2013). Each policy alternative is characterised by attributes taking at least
three levels to describe variation ranges presented to respondents. The attributes,
included and defined on the base of stakeholders’ shared relevance, are: (1) number of
loading/unloading bays (LUB); (2) probability of finding a loading/unloading bay free
(PLUBF); (3) entrance fee (EF). LUB and PLUBF have three levels while EF has five. These
attributes were considered policy relevant by all stakeholders while others (e.g. tradable
permits for policy-makers), judged significant only by a single stakeholder, were discarded.
UFT policy interventions are usually uniformly applied to all stakeholders involved and this
motivates the choice performed. Joint stakeholder meetings were an important source of
information concerning attribute ranges. Broad level ranges were used in order to avoid
possible behavioural misinterpretations (e.g. lexicographic preferences, see e.g. Hess,
Stathopoulos, & Daly, 2012). In fact, seemingly non-trading behaviour among interviewees
could, de facto, be due to insufficient variation in level ranges producing an undetectable
impact on utility.
12 V. GATTA AND E. MARCUCCI
Ranking is the response format adopted since it seems more consistent to ask for a
ranking of policies rather than choosing among them. This, in fact, never happens in
reality. Interviewees are asked to rank three policies (two hypothetical and the status
quo). Replies to the ranking exercises were exploded into choices for estimation purposes.
Multiple designs are generated each corresponding to a different segment (i.e. retailers
and transport providers) of the sampled population (see e.g. Rose & Bliemer, 2006; Sándor
& Wedel, 2005). In fact, one has to underline the strong a priori nurtured concerning the
structurally different preferences that supposedly characterise retailers and transport pro-
viders. The ex-ante considerations, suggesting a consistent distinction between these two
stakeholders’ preferences, are based on their respective structural and functional charac-
teristics. In fact, while retailers demand freight transportation services, transport providers
offer them. This is considered sufficient to assume that they are characterised by divergent
interests explaining heterogeneous policy preferences. These different preferences for UFT
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policy attributes should, as the case study demonstrates, also be reflected in the efficient
design development process implying the adoption of a stakeholder-specific approach
even when the same intervention levers are tested on different stakeholders. Taking the
beneficial impacts of this strategy for granted, the case study investigates the effects of
a stakeholder-specific approach.
of a Bayesian efficient design and the shunning of the traditional factorial one since robust
results can be obtained also with a small number of interviews.
a
WTP for an additional unit of the corresponding attribute. In brackets the standard error estimated using Delta method.
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bays or in the probability of finding them free has a positive impact on utility. On the con-
trary, an increase in the annual cost negatively affects utility. As imaginable EF plays the
lion part in explaining preferences (the highest t-stat value). Moreover, the supposed
homogeneous stakeholders are willing to pay 0.22€ annual fee for each additional
loading/unloading bay and nearly 11€ for an additional unit of probability of finding
loading/unloading bays free.
R2 results are reported in Table 3 where the MNL models for both stakeholders are
showed. Similar considerations on significance and interpretation, as expressed for R1,
apply to this case. Small WTP measures differences are detected. However, accounting
for stakeholders’ heterogeneity in the modelling estimation one discovers that the two
stakeholders considered have opposite sensitivities to policy attributes. Retailers are
more interested in PLUPF (11.99€ vs. 10.12€) suggesting they would prefer the adoption
of a light intervention policy relying more on regulation rather than on infrastructural
investments. On the contrary, transport providers are more interested in LUB (0.23€ vs.
0.21€).
Table 4 reports the econometric results for R3. The estimates for both models are policy
relevant and indicate a remarkable goodness-of-fit. R3 is characterised, when compared to
R1 and R2, by the lowest information criteria values (i.e. AIC, BIC, HQIC) and entails substan-
tially different WTP measures.
Therefore, accounting for stakeholders’ heterogeneity also in the data-acquisition
process produces different results. In fact, EF has a much higher impact on utility (this is
more evident for retailers) thus implying lower WTP measures for both LUB and PLUBF.
Moreover, ASC1 and ASC2 are both positive and statistically significant indicating,
ceteris paribus, a negative attitude towards the status quo option.
From a purely statistical point, one should suggest policy-makers to have more faith in
R3 results given its higher fit to the data. This confirms the need for adopting a stake-
holder-specific approach not only when modelling but also for data acquisition. R3 is
thus taken as a benchmark while R1 and R2 are used for quantitatively measuring the
potential bias.
A quantification of WTP distortions is reported in Table 5 where policy interventions are
simulated on the base of the highest possible level that can be adopted for each attribute
in the SP survey (i.e. additional 800 loading/unloading bays and/or additional 20% of prob-
ability of finding loading/unloading bays free). As expected, using a stakeholder-generic
TRANSPORT REVIEWS 15
Transport providers
LUB 0.461 0.126 3.65 −0.23 (0.06)
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a
WTP for an additional unit of the corresponding attribute. In brackets the standard error estimated using Delta
method.
Transport providers
LUB 0.548 0.159 3.46 −0.20 (0.05)
PLUBF 0.468 0.183 2.56 −6.83 (2.28)
EF −1.372 0.149 −9.23 –
ASC1 0.255 0.315 0.81 –
ASC2 0.612 0.325 1.88 –
Log likelihood function: −199.75
No. of observations: 357
Info. Criterion AIC: 1.147
Finite Sample AIC: 1.148
Info. Criterion BIC: 1.201
Info. Criterion HQIC: 1.169
a
WTP for an additional unit of the corresponding attribute. In brackets the standard error estimated using Delta
method.
16 V. GATTA AND E. MARCUCCI
approach also when modelling (R1) would induce the adoption of inefficient policy
measures. In fact, in the case of LUB, policy-makers would increase the annual entrance
fee by nearly 180€ which is twice as much the retailers are willing to pay (+104%). This
would, most likely, cause serious discontent to them while transport providers would
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mildly oppose the policy change due to a small WTP overestimation (+12%). With
respect to PLUBF, noticeable distortions emerge for both retailers (+71%) and transport
providers (+63%). Similar considerations apply when looking at the full policy intervention
package based on the combined LUB and PLUBF level variations.
Surprisingly, the error margin is not reduced when considering R2. All WTP measures
are overestimated also in this case and, compared to R1, the distortions are, in some
cases, even higher (e.g. PLUBF for retailers). Moreover, policy-makers would incorrectly
conclude that retailers are willing to pay more than transport providers for the full
policy intervention package.
To sum up, results suggest the adoption of a well-defined stakeholder-specific perspec-
tive in both data acquisition and modelling. In fact, employing a stakeholder-generic
approach would provoke severe policy distortions. Considering stakeholders’ heterog-
eneity only when modelling data is not sufficient to avoid or reduce the risk of erring.
4. Conclusion
Cities, characterised by scarce resources and facing increasing citizens’ requests for more
liveable and attractive environments, need to define and implement more efficient UFT
policy interventions. This difficult task can be better pursued via quantitative policy analy-
sis. Data-driven evaluation thus acquires a critical role.
Ex-ante scenario assessment is fundamental when local policy-makers have to deal with
heterogeneous preferences among the relevant stakeholders playing a role in urban
freight distribution. Data acquisition is critical and costly. It is critical since stakeholders
are usually unwilling to share information that might have a strategically relevant commer-
cial value. It is costly since high-quality data usually require face-to-face interviews
administration. Small samples typically characterise research papers in this field. The
data-acquisition process is thus a relevant issue and cannot be underestimated. Recognis-
ing this point and taking in due consideration the widely acknowledged high-level of pre-
ference heterogeneity among stakeholders in this field, this paper critically compares the
various methodological approaches adopted for policy-evaluation purposes. This is per-
formed by considering 78 policy-related papers conveniently subdivided in five different
classes: (i) case studies; (ii) multi-criteria analysis; (iii) personal critical assessment; (iv)
TRANSPORT REVIEWS 17
simulation; (v) SP. The different methodological approaches pose varying levels of atten-
tion to quantitative policy evaluation, data acquisition and heterogeneity.
The paper specifically focuses on SP methods given recent trends and their methodo-
logical robustness. Under this respect, if possible, data-acquisition process has to be con-
sidered even more critical given both the limited sample size usually available and the
implications preference heterogeneity might have in terms of policy-evaluation issues.
This should induce the analyst to adopt a stakeholder-specific multi-stage efficient exp-
erimental design.
The review highlights a high variability in the level of sophistication for data acquisition,
ranging from dramatically complex approaches with limited practical feasibility to very
simple ones that do not even make use of an experimental design. Articles focus on
either a single stakeholder or multiple stakeholders. In the latter case, a stakeholder-
specific approach naturally applies when heterogeneous policies, in terms of attributes,
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Notes
1. ISI web of knowledge is used since it is widely recognised as the most exclusive research database
given the quality standards Journals need to respect to be indexed. Last access to the database
was on 15 May 2015.
2. Specific thematic concentrations emerge from a first qualitative article clustering. In particular,
the most numerous group relates to vehicle routing and efficiency maximisation of freight move-
ments within city boundaries (e.g. Ehmke, Meisel, & Mattfeld, 2012; Hemmelmayr, Cordeau, &
Crainic, 2012; Motraghi & Marinov, 2012; Nguyen, Prins, & Prodhon, 2012; Perboli, Tadei, &
Vigo, 2011; Pillac, Gueret, & Medaglia, 2012). Another set concentrates on UFT environmental
impacts and its regulation (e.g. Arvidsson, 2013; Figliozzi, 2011; Lee et al., 2012; Sathaye et al.,
2010a, 2010b). Data acquisition issues have also catalysed consistent research efforts (e.g.
Allen, Browne, & Cherrett, 2012b; McCabe, Kwan, & Roorda, 2013; Roorda, 2011), while minor
attention has been paid to the effects of UFT disruptions (e.g. Friesz, Lee, & Lin, 2011;
Mamasis, Minis, & Dikas, 2013) and agent-based modelling (e.g. Teo et al., 2012; Zhang, Peeta,
& Friesz, 2005).
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3. A similar study on urban consolidation centres is performed by Marcucci, Danielis, Paglione, and
Gatta (2007) where, on the contrary, the same choice scenarios are showed to all stakeholders.
4. Gatta and Marcucci (2013) focus on preference heterogeneity for UFT policies within a single sta-
keholder type. Heterogeneity can be modelled by using advanced techniques (e.g. Marcucci &
Gatta, 2011, 2012; Fabrizi, Farcomeni, & Gatta, 2012; Felici & Gatta, 2008).
5. Gatta and Marcucci (in press) and Marcucci and Gatta (2014) investigate the non-linear effects of
policy intervention on retailers’ and transport providers’ utility functions.
6. Gatta and Marcucci (in press) and Please see Hensher, Rose, and Greene (2005) for an in-depth
analysis of the strenght and weaknesses of a MNL model.
7. The Delta method relies on the joint and strong normality assumption for both the maximum
likelihood estimates and their ratio. In practice, the Delta method is usually recommended
when the cost coefficient is highly significant (Gatta, Marcucci, & Scaccia, 2015).
8. Attributes are normalised dividing each attribute level by its own minimum value (see Marcucci,
Gatta, Valeri, et al., 2013). As an example, unnormalised LUB=400, 800, 1200 while normalised
LUB=1, 2 and 3.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Volvo Research Foundation (‘Innovative
solutions to freight distribution in the complex large urban area of Rome’, Grant #SP-2007–50).
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