Modal shift to inland waterways: dealing with barriers in two Swedish cases

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses strategies to overcome barriers to a modal shift to inland waterway transport (IWT). Barriers identified in research literature have been categorised as regulatory, financial, service quality and market characteristics. Using two cases involving Swedish entrepreneurs initiating IWT, this paper has shown how barriers to the modal shift to IWT can be managed where markets are limited. Modal shift involves multiple actors, and the entrepreneurs interacted with ports, shippers, shipping companies, regulatory actors, forwarders and hauliers, depending on the barrier. Strategies to manage barriers included negotiating, educating stakeholders, securing volumes, conducting a proof-of-concept run and identifying business opportunities for stakeholders. The findings can increase stakeholders’ knowledge of IWT. Policy makers aiming to promote modal shift must understand that fees and legislation act as barriers.

KEYWORDS:

• Modal shift
• inland waterway transport
• barriers
• inland waterways

Acknowledgements

The research is funded by Sweden’s innovation agency VINNOVA, Region Västra Götaland and Interreg North Sea Region, through the #IWTS 2.0 project. We also want to extend our gratitude to the entrepreneurs Kristofer Andrén and Johan Lantz.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Interreg North Sea Region [grant number #IWTS 2.0]; VINNOVA [grant number 2017-03317]; Region Västra Götaland [grant number RUN 201700832].