Urban areas represent particular challenges for freight transport, both in terms of logistical performance and environmental impact. A range of regulatory, technological and logistical measures have been applied, most of them suffering from a lack of systematic evaluation and assessment related to their short and long term effects which impedes knowledge transfer and the adoption of best practice. As a consequence, large scale adaptations often fail, although many initiatives seemed successful in pilots and demonstrations. There is a clear need for a comprehensive approach to urban freight solutions, particularly linking urban to interurban freight movements.

The objectives of STRAIGHTSOL are threefold:

1. Develop a new impact assessment framework for measures applied to urban-interurban freight transport interfaces.
2. Support a set of innovative field demonstrations showcasing improved urban-interurban freight operations in Europe.
3. Apply the impact assessment framework to the live demonstrations and develop specific recommendations for future freight policies and measures.

The demonstrations represent cutting edge initiatives from leading stakeholders like DHL Supply Chain, Kuehne+Nagel and TNT, and cover Brussels, Barcelona, Thessaloniki, Utrecht, Lisbon, Oslo and the south of England. STRAIGHTSOL will contribute to the Commission's research agenda through: 1) an implementation of sustainable urban-interurban freight transport solutions, 2) widely disseminating the experiences and effects from the demonstrations amongst the logistics community, 3) demonstrating the added value of the evaluation tool framework for assessing last mile distribution and urban-interurban freight activities.

The STRAIGHTSOL demonstrations and deliverables will give policy makers and transport industry players input for future measures in the field of last mile distribution and urban-interurban freight transport interfaces at the European, country, region, city and local levels.