Goods distribution with electric vans in cities: towards an agent-based simulation

Cities being the framework and power of economics, urban goods distribution is essential for the prosperity of urban areas but at the same time it is a source of problems related to the environment, traffic safety and accessibility. To classify and describe different problem-solving options for urban goods distribution, there is a need for a fundamental way of describing the transport process, its actors and its means (equipments and infrastructures). Few works describe methodologies for facing the problem of goods distribution in historical city centers, while taking into account the particular infrastructural restrictions and especially the narrow streets to which such areas are subject.
The main objective of our work is the specification and design of a software tool for the management of an electric vehicle fleet for goods distribution in small and medium sized cities. This is a part of a multimodal urban traffic simulator based on the paradigm of multi agent system (MAS). Agents and interactions are defined from modeling of the system “Goods Transport in City”. The end-user (e.g. city centre Manager) simulates scenarios in agreement with local traffic regulations, the capacity of the fleet and the routing alternatives.
This paper focuses on the modeling of the management process of the parking place sharing between car drivers and dedicated areas of goods deliveries.