Evaluation of sustainability of using autonomous vehiclesfor the last-mile delivery industry

Abstract

This study aims to determine if autonomous vehicles (AV) for last-mile deliveries are sustainable from threeperspectives: social, environmental, and economic. Because of the relevance of AV applications for last-miledelivery, safety was only addressed for the sake of societal sustainability. According to this study, it is rather safe todeploy AVs for delivery since current society’s speed restrictions and decent road conditions give the foundationfor AVs to run safely for last-mile delivery in metropolitan areas. Furthermore, AV has a distinct advantage in theevent of a pandemic. The biggest worry for environmental sustainability is the emission problem. It is establishedthat AV has a substantial benefit in terms of emission reduction in terms of a series of emissions. This is mostly dueto the differences in driving behavior between autonomous cars and human vehicles. Because of AV’s commercialcharacter, this research used a quantitative approach to highlight the economic sustainability of AV. The studydemonstrates the economic benefit of AV for various carrying capacities.