###### Abstract  
Optimization transportation cargo and passengers between ports and regions are very important, because industrial regions are located some distance from ports. The demand for energy request for the movement of transport is a necessity in the modern world. Transport and activity called transportation are used daily, everywhere, and a lot of energy is needed to power the various transport modes. Today different transport modes are being used to transport passengers and cargo. It is quite common to use road transport, which can transport passengers and cargo from door to door. Considering alternative possibilities (road, railway and/or inland waterway transport), it is important, based on theoretical and experimentation, to identify optimal solutions. In finding transport modes that are either most technically or economically effective, we could unearth possible solutions which would require minimal energy use. Unfortunately, with increased transportation, this often leads to traffic congestion on the roads, which requires additional energy (fuel). This situation generates requirements from many stakeholders in terms of finding ways to decrease the transportation time and energy (fuel) consumed by transport modes. A theoretical method evaluation is conducted on the optimal transportation possibility that minimizes transportation time and energy (fuel) use by employing graph theory, which is presented in this paper. The scientific contribution is the development of a transport modes comparative index, which is then used for evaluations. This paper presents possible alternative transportation conditions based on a multi-criteria evaluation system, proposes a theoretical basis for the optimal solutions from an eco-economic perspective that considers energy, and provides for experimental testing during a specific case study. The final results from the case study provide recommendations and conclusions. caption to sea ports; energy consumption; transport modes; optimal transportation solutions; alternative fuels; transport mode comparative index +
Footnote †: journal: Applied Sciences  
_Article_  
Optimizing Transportation between Sea Ports and Regions by Road Transport and Rail and Inland Waterway Transport Means Including \"Last Mile\" Solutions  
[PERSON]  
world is about 173,340 TWh [1]; at the same time, transport consumption is about 25% of the total energy consumption [2]. Increasing energy prices are being demanded globally by many transportation processes seeking to optimize the decrease in energy through transportation [3]. Optimization of transportation processes and decreasing energy (fuel) demands today are viewed as some of the main challenges for industries and society in general. Optimizing transport processes that considers reducing energy demand is argued to be one of the key challenges for research and application, which is the main aim of this paper. Road transport is being used very intensively, because of the flexibility in using this transport mode to deliver cargo between regions, from ports to cargo destination places or transport cargo from shippers to ports or other areas. At the same time, road transport has its limitations, such as capacity and relatively high engine power used, as a result of which high fuel consumption occurs, which is not optimal compared to other alternatives [3,4]. Railway transport links many regions, ports and cargo consignees' locations and is often used to transport cargo between regions, from port to its destination places or from shippers' location. Railway transport has sufficient capacity and requires less energy in comparison with road transport for the same quantities of cargo transportation, but at the same time, in most cases, it cannot be used for door-to-door transportation [5, 6, 7]. Traffic congestion on the roads, and especially in urban areas, often increases transportation costs and energy consumption, which generates requests for studies to find optimal transportation solutions and decrease energy for transportation tasks.