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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is working to reduce freight energy use by pairing efficient supply-side technologies and operations with freight demand management techniques in the Albany-New York City corridor. The project aims to demonstrate the mutually reinforcing effects of demand-side and supply-side efficiencies through the adoption of Energy Efficient Logistics (EELs) and to better understand which freight management strategies are most likely to be used by consumers.

As of 2019, the team has evaluated and selected an initial list of EEL initiatives. Based on feedback from stakeholders, the team is currently working to model the impact of the following EEL initiatives: receiver-led consolidation, parking loading zones and parking reservation, off-hour deliveries, parking pricing, and pickup & delivery at alternative locations. In order to assess the effectiveness of these initiatives, the team has conducted an online consumer survey about home deliveries with future plans to conduct surveys for delivery carriers and receivers. The team has also worked to update and integrate four existing models and simulation tools into one Integrated Transport-Energy Model (ITEM). This includes the Behavioral Micro-Simulation (BMS), SVTrip, Polaris, and Autonomie. Significant work has been done to acquire and manage high resolution Global Positioning System (GPS) data from fleets that can be used as inputs for SVTrip. Once completed, ITEM can be used to estimate the impact of various EEL initiatives.