Insight to the express transport network Original Research Article

The express delivery industry is developing rapidly in recent years and has attracted attention in many fields. Express shipment service requires that parcels be delivered in a limited time with a low operation cost, which requests a high level and efficient express transport network (ETN). The ETN is constructed based on the public transport networks, especially the airline network. It is similar to the airline network in some aspects, while it has its own feature. With the complex network theory, the topological properties of the ETN are analyzed deeply. We find that the ETN has the small-world property, with disassortative mixing behavior and rich club phenomenon. It also shows difference from the airline network in some features, such as edge density and average shortest path. Analysis on the corresponding distance-weighted network shows that the distance distribution displays a truncated power-law behavior. At last, an evolving model, which takes both geographical constraint and preference attachment into account, is proposed. The model shows similar properties with the empirical results.