Mobile App to Unloading Areas - Which Could We Learn with the Brazilian Experience?

Mobile apps are online services offered in smartphones, combining data, functionality and user interface to the customer. In urban freight transport, app-based services are increasingly focused on last-mile delivery. This paper presents a mobile app to unloading zones developed by Belo Horizonte municipality. The initial purpose of this app is identifying the unloading bays used by carriers. Since June 2019, the municipality launched the “rotativo digital” app. The first results show a progressive increase in the number of users of the application. In general, those who download the app, use it regularly. However, there is resistance in the download of the application by the drivers. In addition, the most used loading and unloading areas were identified. From the lessons learned, it is important to use technology to collect data on urban freight transport. Educational and inspection campaigns can encourage more users to use the application. Knowledge about the type of data and its benefits for urban planning can be vital to its success.