ELCIDIS: The Background

Most European cities are confronted with problems regarding the distribution of goods. The evolution of urban logistics has led to the increasing use of heavy goods vehicles in city centres. The nuisance caused by these vehicles to traffic fluidity and the environment is growing, and becoming less acceptable.
Shops and businesses suffer from the poor accessibility of the city and residents and shoppers experience the negative effects from the pollution caused by these heavy vehicles. Both the economic and environmental viability of cities are affected by the present organisation of urban goods distribution.

The ELCIDIS project, electric vehicle city distribution systems, wants to find a solution for urban logistics by approaching the subject in a dual way, taking into account the interests of all parties involved:

By organising urban distribution using quiet and clean (hybrid) electric vehicles, the nuisance of distribution activities can be decreased dramatically. The improved living climate of the city will benefit residents and shoppers as well as shopkeepers.

A more efficient organisation of urban logistics can be achieved by a more efficient routing of the vehicles and the use of central distribution centres. A more efficient organisation will decrease the number of journeys made by heavy vehicles and increase traffic fluidity in urban areas. The improved accessibility of the city will especially benefit transport companies, shopkeepers and businesses which operate in the city.

Taking into consideration the interests of all parties involved, ELCIDIS wants to set an example for clean and efficient Urban Distribution in the 21st century.

ELCIDIS is an integrated TARGETED PROJECT supported by the European Commission's THERMIE programme.

In an effort to support less energy consuming and cleaner transport, the European Commission - Directorate General for Energy - launched, as part of the 1997 Thermie programme, a call for proposals asking cities in particular to set up and implement together a series of "Integrated Transport Projects" for energy saving in urban transport. ELCIDIS is one of the projects accepted and supported by the European Commision's Thermie Programme.