Party Without a Cake? Onto an Inter-modal HitchHike Logistics Platform for Passengers and Products Transportation

Transportation is essential for facilitating the efficient movement of people and products, yet confronted by problems including congestion, high operating expenses, and negative impact on the environment. Inter-modal transportation provides a way to mitigate these issues through reduced environmental impact and increased logistical efficiency. However, major obstacles are preventing its widespread implementation, including the integration of multiple systems, the requirement of supporting infrastructure, and the substantial cost of integration. Thus, fostering an open and distributed ecosystem for different service providers supports and optimizes inter-modal transportation. Nevertheless, offering openness and distribution compromises system reliability due to the high level of complexity and variability of service integration among different modes of transportation and independent operators. This paper proposes the architecture of the HitchHike logistics platform that supports inter-modal multi-hop transportation segment for products and passengers by hitchhiking through the local hubs and aims to balance system openness with reliability. In addition, the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI)-based dynamic real-time route planning facilitates efficient routes and aims to optimize the efficiency of individual modes of transportation while maintaining flexibility. According to the customer’s anticipated risk, the system offers flexible routes which correspond to the expected risk. Therefore, through an integrated ecosystem of logistic-based service providers, the proposed architecture addresses challenges including navigating various transportation networks, choosing efficient and economical routes, and allowing key stakeholders to collaborate and work proactively.