Project overview
The digital economy (e.g. online shopping) is growing rapidly - already £50bn in 2016 - which is radically transforming the high street. It is estimated that approximately 220,000 vans are operating in London on a typical weekday with approximately 5% (11,000) engaged in parcel collection and delivery. With new `try before you by' clothing services such as ASOS and Amazon Prime Wardrobe, where any number of clothing items can be ordered for home delivery, and returned 'for free', the true environmental costs are spiralling out of control. Freight transport already accounts for 16% of all motorised road vehicle activity in British towns and cities, typically burning fossil fuels and accounting for 23%, 36% and 39% of total road-based CO2, NOx and PM10 emissions respectively,
In response, this project looked at how digital technology can be designed to empower couriers to fight unfairness, challenge unfair models and algorithms in platform courier work, and develop new models that put fairness and sustainability at the core.
FlipGig (2019-2021) (http://www.flipgig.org/) received funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grant agreement no. EP/S027726/1.
In response, this project looked at how digital technology can be designed to empower couriers to fight unfairness, challenge unfair models and algorithms in platform courier work, and develop new models that put fairness and sustainability at the core.
FlipGig (2019-2021) (http://www.flipgig.org/) received funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grant agreement no. EP/S027726/1.
Staff
Lead researcher
Other researchers