89. Cost-Benefit Analysis of Automated Freight Systems (IM-12-TRUS-023)

Transporting shipping containers by road in the vicinity of marine ports in urban areas is often expensive and intrusive to communities due to crashes, emissions, and noise. Often due to the historic location of ports in inner-city areas, conflicts arise between residents and road freight carriers. Hence, a dedicated and automated infrastructure can reduce the operating, social and environmental costs of container transport. Technological concepts such as automated guided vehicles and hyper-loop have good potential for increasing the efficiency and sustainability of container movements in inner-city areas. The goal of this project is to produce a formal report that highlights the social cost-benefit analysis, in particular, the social, environmental and economic aspects of implementing automated freight systems in Australia, when compared with existing freight systems from real-world case studies.

Cavell Khoo

Theng Yuan Lim

Jason Lee