Exploring opportunities of using the sharing economy in sustainable urban freight transport

Reliance on the sharing economy is becoming crucial to the functioning of modern cities. Certain sharing economy-based solutions can contribute to the development of sustainable urban freight transport by reducing the number of delivery vans in service and using green vehicles. This paper evaluates the potential of the sharing economy for freight deliveries in the Polish cities. The authors examine two types of sharing platform-based solutions for light commercial vehicles (LCV), namely LCV-sharing and crowdshipping, along with the general perception of sharing platforms by the Polish citizens and their motivation to use them. Two research methods have been employed. The multi-case study method has been applied to assess the LCV-sharing market and identify the best crowdshipping practices. General interest of the public in the sharing economy has been examined by means of a survey analysis. The results show that, albeit with little market presence, the LCVsharing is continuously winning new customers in the major Polish cities. Provided by car-sharing operators who have expanded their offering with delivery vans, or by operators who target the freight market alone, the service is a more environmentally-friendly and economical alternative to leasing, especially for companies which do not need extensive use of delivery vans. Further development of LCV-sharing depends largely on availability of the service and its price, as well as on the general awareness of benefits from the sharing business model and the strengthening of confidence in it.