Project report (M. Eng.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1991. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 59). Also available via the Internet.

ABSTRACT Durban's “Golden Mile” is the city’s most prominent tourist attraction and contributed ± R225 million towards much needed job creation and poverty alleviation in the region during the 2007 financial year, a trend which is set to increase dramatically during the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) 2010 Soccer World Cup, which was awarded to the Republic of South Africa. The City of Durban will host eight World Cup matches, including a semi-final at the newly designed Moses Mabhiba World Cup 2010 Stadium. The high incidence of violent crimes committed against tourists, which is also reported on in the international media, has caused the concern that if tourists perceive the beachfront to be unsafe they will be hesitant to visit Durban again, while the likelihood also exists that they might discourage other potential visitors. This paper is an attempt to provide input to the discourse on the matter based on empirical research. Much of the research on crime and tourism is founded on economic models of criminal behaviour. The current study contributes to the expanding crime and tourism literature by providing facts and accurate statistics instead of anecdotal information on violent crime and tourism, more specifically with regard to the so-called “street robberies”. From the data collected and analysed, it will become evident that during 2006, 90% of the street robberies reported to Golden Mile hotel security was not documented in the form of a case docket with the SAPS. Through the use of qualitative data analysis techniques such as theming, coding and categorising, the study will also reveal that all the respondents who completed the open-ended questionnaire are of the opinion that preliminary crime scene investigation of street robberies committed against tourists on Durban’s Golden Mile was, for a variety of reasons, ineffective. Finally, based on the relevant literature as well as the findings of the study, a number of recommendations will be put forward.

The study focuses on building a financial model for a telecommunications carrier to guide it towards profitable network investments. The model shows optimal access-network topography by comparing two broadband delivery techniques over fibre technology. The study is a scenario exploration of how a large telecommunication company deploying fibre will see its investment pay off in a Canadian residential market where cable operators are using competing technology serving the same bandwidth hungry consumers. The comparison is made at the last mile by studying how household densities, bandwidth demand, competition, geographic and deployment considerations affect the economics of fibre technology investment. Case comparisons are made using custom models that extend market forecasts to estimate future bandwidth demand. Market uptake is forecasted using sigmoid curves in an environment where competing and older technologies exist. Sensitivity analyses are performed on each fibre technology to assess venture profitability under different scenarios.

The study focuses on building a financial model for a telecommunications carrier to guide it towards profitable network investments. The model shows optimal access-network topography by comparing two broadband delivery techniques over fibre technology. The study is a scenario exploration of how a large telecommunication company deploying fibre will see its investment pay off in a Canadian residential market where cable operators are using competing technology serving the same bandwidth hungry consumers. The comparison is made at the last mile by studying how household densities, bandwidth demand, competition, geographic and deployment considerations affect the economics of fibre technology investment. Case comparisons are made using custom models that extend market forecasts to estimate future bandwidth demand. Market uptake is forecasted using sigmoid curves in an environment where competing and older technologies exist. Sensitivity analyses are performed on each fibre technology to assess venture profitability under different scenarios.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McGill University, 1998. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. Includes bibliographical references.

The last-mile delivery option has become a focal point of academic research and industrial development in recent years. Multiple factors such as increased demands on delivery flexibility, customer requirements, delivery urgency, and many others are enforcing to adopt this option. For fulfilling this paradigm shift in delivery and providing additional flexibility, drones can be considered as a viable option to use for last-mile delivery cases. Numerous drones are available in the market with varying capacities and functionalities, posing a significant challenge for decision-makers to select the most appropriate drone type for a specific application. For this purpose, this study proposes a comprehensive list of criteria that can be used to compare a set of available last-mile delivery drones. Additionally, we introduced a systematic multi-criterion, multi-personnel decision-making approach, referred to as the Interval Valued Inferential Fuzzy TOPSIS method. This method is robust and can handle the fuzziness in decision-making, thereby providing quality drone selection decisions under different applications. We then apply this method to a real-life test setting. Results suggest that smaller drones or quadcopters are considered viable to use in urban environments, while long-range drones are preferred for the last mile delivery needs in rural settings.

Driverless vehicles might fundamentally change the transport system in multiple ways. Reducing driver costs in mobility services could create opportunities for new mobility concepts. Research on driverless vehicles have previously concentrated on urban areas, though driverless vehicles in rural areas could have greater positive effects. Hence, the aim of the study is to see how driverless vehicles can be used in rural areas to contribute to a more sustainable transport system. Three rural mobility concepts for driverless vehicles are developed and by applying these to different case locations, the feasibility of the concepts is discussed. Interviews with local actors in Sweden were conducted to learn about general and local challenges with specific case locations. What rural mobility concept for driverless vehicles to use depends on access to public transport, distance to main roads and spatial density of travel demand. A modelling approach of a first and last mile feeder service is used to evaluate the feasibility of this mobility concept further. Model results show that driverless shuttles can feed travel demands of 100-150 passengers daily and still perform alternative tasks. Even though rural areas have general challenges, local issues also need consideration to optimize the benefits of the services. Public transport authorities are experts on local challenges and could take more responsibility in questions regarding driverless vehicles. For instance, flexibility, accessibility and equality could be improved by merging routes and shorten travel times for entire bus routes. Furthermore, other societal functions can be developed by reinvesting capital in other areas.

Background: The last-mile logistics of the supply chain is often the most expensive part for an e-commerce retailer. It is also according to Lim and Srai (2018) where the consumers are the most demanding. It is no longer exclusively the e-commerce retailers’ job to choose the delivery method of the parcel they are sending out to their customer. As a consumer in Sweden today, you will often get the option to choose how you want your online order to be delivered. The result of consumers wanting to have more of a say in how their parcel is delivered is that the carrier companies now compete for the opportunity to deliver parcels (Post- och telestyrelsen 2020).  Purpose: This master’s thesis has as a purpose to investigate what reasoning there is behindthe choices the actors in B2C last-mile delivery make when it comes to their offerings ofdelivery options, and their chosen strategy. As e-commerce retailing has grown in hugeproportions during the last decades, there will also be a focus on what the industry mightdevelop into, as this will have an impact on the actors in the industry. There is a lack of insightinto the subject of this study, i.e. how e-commerce retailers and parcel carriers tackle theconstantly changing world of last-mile logistics. To help answer the purpose of the master’sthesis, literature on last-mile parcel delivery was compiled together with theories such as agencytheory, co-opetition, dynamic capabilities, and transaction cost analysis. Research questions: What should the different actors in B2C last-mile delivery take intoaccount when developing their parcel delivery strategy? What will the future of B2C parceldeliveries look like according to the different actors in B2C last-mile delivery? Methodology: The study used a qualitative method with an abductive reasoning. Thequalitative method that was used for collecting the data was qualitative semi-structuredinterviews. As this master’s thesis has a focus on the actors in B2C last-mile delivery, theinterviews were conducted with professionals within the e-commerce retailing, parcel carrier,and last-mile logistics industry. Conclusion: The study then concludes that the e-commerce retailer will try to adapt theirdelivery offerings based on what the consumers wish, and to be able to do this, the e-commerceretailer need to be flexible in their offerings. The parcel carriers need to keep in mind that theyhave a dependency towards the e-commerce retailers. The option of co-opetition is alsosomething that they should consider. It is important for the last-mile logistics companies to beaware of all this as they are working with both e-commerce retailers and parcel carriers. Thefindings of the study show that many believe that the future of parcel delivery will be to useparcel lockers. What needs to be kept in mind is that it is important for the consumer to be ableto choose when, where, and how their parcel is delivered. This master’s thesis can be used bye-commerce retailers, parcel carriers, and last-mile logistics companies, to gain insight intowhat the parcel delivery market looks like today, and what is important for all actors on it.

No description available.

In an effort to shift reliance away from single-occupancy vehicles, many cities have been investing in active and public transportation, and promoting multi-modal travel. It has been recognized both academically and professionally that there is a need to address issues regarding access to transit stations and nodes – the ‘first mile problem.’ Many see bicycles as the answer to the first mile problem; however, scholarly literature has generally neglected exploring how to accommodate bicycles at different stations. This practicum investigates the first mile problem in Edmonton, Alberta, and identifies existing challenges with bicycle access to Edmonton’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) system. The findings suggest three distinct LRT ‘station types’, each requiring a nuanced suite of infrastructure improvements in order to encourage more bicycle access. Further, these improvements can only be realized through the development and execution of comprehensive policies and regulations that support cycling and bike-transit integration. / October 2016