CASE STUDY 1 Autonomous water taxis Amsterdam, the Netherlands Implemented Overview of mobility challenge The extensive canal system in Amsterdam has historically played a crucial role in the city’s development having been built for various purposes, including transportation, trade and defence. However, the historic infrastructure, particularly the walls and bridges around the canal system, is now a significant concern for the city. The age and design of these structures struggle to withstand modern traffic demands, especially heavy delivery vehicles. As a result, parts of the city’s legacy infrastructure are deteriorating. This issue has prompted the need for mobility solutions that can shift some of the city’s traffic from the road to the waterways and also reduce the burden of deliveries in the city. Another key challenge exists for waterways – a lack of skilled shippers. So while many manned boats currently operate on Amsterdam waterways, scaling these operations, or making them more on-demand and flexible in routing, requires driverless solutions.13 Solution: Roboat autonomous water taxi and sustainable inner-city logistics centres The Roboat initiative was a collaborative research effort led by the AMS Institute, involving scholars from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Delft University of Technology, and Wageningen University and Research supported by Waternet, the City of Amsterdam and the City of Boston.14 The project sought to leverage emerging technology to optimize Amsterdam’s canal system for both freight and public transport. Central to the project was the development of modular, zero-emission, autonomous boats, aimed at revitalizing the canals and the significance of the canals within the cityscape. The five key use cases envisaged for the Roboat project were: 1. Passenger transport: The most apparent use of Roboats is as water taxis or passenger shuttle vessels, providing a convenient and eco-friendly mode of transportation for residents and visitors. The navigation component in the system calculates from path A to B using GPS technology with the map of the local environment. 2. Logistics: Roboats are to be utilized for logistics and transporting various goods to different parts of the city, reducing the need for heavy trucks on the city’s roads.3. Data collection: Roboats equipped with LiDAR technology and sensors could serve as valuable tools for urban data collection. For example, water quality sensors can provide real-time data on the state of Amsterdam’s waters, aiding in monitoring and managing water quality and environmental conditions. 4. Flexible infrastructure: The modular design of these autonomous boats allows them to self-assemble and form temporary structures, such as bridges. This feature can be especially useful for reducing traffic congestion during rush hours by creating additional pathways for vehicles and pedestrians. 5. Waste collection: Replacing current road transport for refuse collection along streets lined by canals will help clean up the street environment and free up space on streets. Replacing current road transport for refuse collection along canal-lined streets will help clean up the street environment and free up space on the streets. Amsterdam is also innovating sustainable goods deliveries. CTPark in Amsterdam City stands as the pioneering multimodal, multi-level inner-city logistics centre in the country, offering strategic connectivity to urban hubs via both land and water routes. CTPark is strategically designed for last-mile deliveries to densely populated regions in an emission-free manner.15 With more than 200 charging stations for electric vehicles and other emission-free transportation options, it emerges as an optimal hub for last- mile deliveries. Deudekom, a removal company with a warehouse in Amsterdam’s Duivendrecht area, uses its warehouse as a central hub for consolidating goods deliveries around the city. It also advocates for suppliers to consolidate deliveries to reduce mileage, CO2 emissions and the number of trips. Research indicates that urban logistics facilities, such as micro hubs, can enhance the cost-effective use of light electric freight vehicles (LEFVs) by reducing the distance to customers. Energiewacht, based in Heemstede, installs smart energy meters in the Amsterdam region. Due to scarce parking and heavy traffic in Amsterdam, mechanics waste significant time on travel and parking. To address this, a mobile hub is centrally parked in the work area throughout the day for resupply. This system potentially saves 30% on transportation costs and reduces CO2 emissions by 80%. Nedcargo, one of the Netherlands’ largest logistics service providers, specializes in transporting food and beverages. STATUS Combatting Congestion: How Cities and Companies are Innovating First- and Last-Mile Transport 8

Combatting Congestion 2025