Author(s)

S. Basbas

Abstract

Within the framework of this paper the impact of e-commerce on transport is examined and discussed. This relatively new way of commercial activity affects modern way of life and also the environment and energy consumption. The paper attempts to identify the advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce in regards to freight transport and person trips. The use of Internet is also examined as a precondition for the success of e-commerce. Results have shown that there is need for further research in order to obtain more robust results about the implications of e-commerce on transport. Keywords: e-commerce, transport, logistics, Internet. 1 Introduction It is well known that the number of road motor vehicles has continuously been increasing all over the world. The car density in the EU has been doubled in the last 25 years to reach 463 cars per 1000 inhabitants in the year 2002 [1]. It must be mentioned at this point that the road motor vehicles are over 800 per thousand inhabitants in the United States [2], which means that the EU figure will be expected to further increase in the near future. It is also worthwhile to mention here that the number of passenger cars in the United States was 129.7 million in the year 1996 [3]. According to estimates by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the total number of vehicles in OECD countries is expected to grow by 32% from 1997 to 2020 [4]. All the abovementioned data lead to the conclusion that traffic and environmental associated problems will continue to grow in the forthcoming years unless certain measures will be implemented. One way to affect transport demand and reduce the number of trips made by passenger cars is the introduction of e-commerce.

Keywords

e-commerce, transport, logistics, Internet.