Research project

FLIPGIG: Digitally transforming deliveries and collections in the gig-economy, for fairer and more sustainable last mile parcel logistics

Project overview

Gig-economy couriers form an integral part of many last‐mile logistics operations, but the industry has come under increasing scrutiny due to concerns about poor working conditions. This project has identified inefficiencies and perceived unfairness relating to unpaid time and low pay, biases to using motorised vehicles, hiring too many people for the work available, which can lead to hazardous working conditions as couriers take risks to earn a living.

The overall project aims included:

  • Investigating current gig economy practices and technology interaction and biases using the parcel and food delivery sectors
  • Exposing the inefficiencies and inequities arising from current ad-hoc last-mile service provision and algorithmic approaches
  • Developing new algorithms and dynamic models for allowing couriers to collaborate in new ways to encourage sustainable 'multi-modal' delivery and collection
  • Creating new algorithms and interaction designs that empower gig economy couriers, rather than focusing on efficiency and profit
  • Exploring how we can enable end-to-end trusted relationships between stakeholders and practices between consignors and consignees
  • Using simulation, modelling, and trials to evaluate the potential impact and uncover barriers to adoption of the fairer, more sustainable models at scale.

We have worked with leading parcel delivery and cycle logistics companies, and modelled delivery options that optimally balance fair distribution of work according to job and worker availability, choosing the most sustainable transport mode for delivery, while empowering gig-economy couriers to better meet their personal working preferences.

Further information is available at the project website.

Staff

Lead researchers

Professor Tom Cherrett

Prof of Logistics and Transport Mgnment

Research interests

  • Understanding and improving the distribution of goods and the management of freight vehicles in urban areas, including the supply of goods to hospitals and the use of consolidation centres; 
  • How optimisation techniques can be used to improve system efficiency and in what ways Intelligent Transport Systems (smart tagging of assets and the use of smartphones) can improve operating efficiency; 
  • Approaches to more effectively collect and manage the movement of waste in terms of both household domestic waste collection strategies, Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) management and joint domestic/commercial waste collection strategies. He has worked on a number of research projects in these specific areas: (Department for Transport grant PPAD 9/142/034, ‘Optimising vehicles undertaking waste collections' GR/S79626/01, SUE project 55 ‘Transport and Logistics'; EP/D043328/1, ‘Green Logistics'.
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Other researchers

Professor Toni Martinez Sykora

Professor

Research interests

  • Optimisation and Combinatorial Optimisation 
  • Cutting and packing problems
  • Transportation and vehicle routing problems
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Collaborating research institutes, centres and groups

Research outputs