On-demand people and parcels shared mobility: an environmental, economic, and service evaluation

Municipalities face increasing challenges due to the growing complexity of urban mobility and the rising volume of e-commerce deliveries, leading to significant social and environmental concerns. Herein we propose and evaluate an on-demand shared mobility service that combines passenger and parcel transportation, leveraging route commonalities to enhance efficiency. Using an agent-based simulation, the proposed service is compared against two alternatives: (1) a shared on-demand mobility service for passengers only (taxi model), and (2) a combined service with traditional van-based parcel delivery. The comparison is based on profit, environmental sustainability, and service quality. Results show that the proposed solution offers the highest environmental benefits while remaining profitable for logistics providers and cost-effective for customers. Academically, this research contributes to the share-a-ride literature by exploring a novel integrated logistics model. From an industry perspective, it presents and evaluates an innovative shared solution with demonstrated benefits for all stakeholders.