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Modal shifts hold considerable potential to mitigate carbon emissions. Electric bikes (e-bikes) represent a promising energy- and carbon-efficient alternative to cars. However, as mobility behaviour is highly habitual, convincing people to switch from cars to e-bikes is challenging. One strategy to accomplish this is the disruption of existing habits - a key idea behind an annual e-bike promotion programme in Switzerland, in which car owners can try out an e-bike for free over a 2-week period in exchange for their car keys. By means of a longitudinal survey, we measured the long-term effects of this trial on mobility-related habitual associations. After one year, participants' habitual association with car use had weakened significantly. This finding was valid both for participants who bought an e-bike after the trial and those who did not. Our findings contrast the results of other studies who find that the effect of interventions to induce modal shifts wears off over time. We conclude that an e-bike trial has the potential to break mobility habits and motivate car owners to use more sustainable means of transport.

We have modelled the market for new cars in Ireland with the aim of quantifying the values placed on a range of observable car characteristics. Mid-sized petrol cars with a manual transmission sell best. Price and perhaps fuel cost are negatively associated with sales, and acceleration and perhaps range are positively associated. Hybrid cars are popular. The values of car characteristics are then used to simulate the likely market shares of three new electric vehicles. Electric vehicles tend to be more expensive even after tax breaks and subsidies are applied, but we assume their market shares would benefit from an "environmental" premium similar to those of hybrid cars. The "environmental" premium and the level of subsidies would need to be raised to incredible levels to reach the government target of 10% market penetration of all-electric vehicles.

This article examines the role of architecture and urban planning in shaping connections between European land-based mobility, cities and landscapes. It investigates the development of spaces aiming to link automobility to the everyday experience of European citizens. The planning and funding of the E-road network is related to the promotion of trans-European mobility for commodities and individuals. This attempt to link the different European nations and to overcome their separate plans has reshaped the urban landscape and the territory. The article aims to show how urban planning and architecture play a key role in implementing new types of mobilities promoting environmental sustainability. Taking into account that the EU aims to overcome regimes of petroleumbased mobility and associated architectures, it intends to demonstrate how the land-based transportation of both individuals and commodities in the E-Road network functions as an actor of planetary urbanization. It investigates three kinds of nodes within the E-Road network – the nodes encountered on the E-Roads, those to be found at the gates to cities and the new structures aiming to imitate the urban dimension but proposing a novel articulation of pedestrian and automobile circulation – and relates them to overarching approaches in the design of mobility. --> This article examines the role of architecture and urban planning in shaping connections between European land-based mobility, cities and landscapes. It investigates the development of spaces aiming to link automobility to the everyday experience of European citizens. The planning and funding of the E-road network is related to the promotion of trans-European mobility for commodities and individuals. This attempt to link the different European nations and to overcome their separate plans has reshaped the urban landscape and the territory. The article aims to show how urban planning and architecture play a key role in implementing new types of mobilities promoting environmental sustainability. Taking into account that the EU aims to overcome regimes of petroleumbased mobility and associated architectures, it intends to demonstrate how the land-based transportation of both individuals and commodities in the E-Road network functions as an actor of planetary urbanization. It investigates three kinds of nodes within the E-Road network – the nodes encountered on the E-Roads, those to be found at the gates to cities and the new structures aiming to imitate the urban dimension but proposing a novel articulation of pedestrian and automobile circulation – and relates them to overarching approaches in the design of mobility.individuals. This attempt to link the different European nations and to overcome their separate plans has reshaped the urban landscape and the territory. The article aims to show how urban planning and architecture play a key role in implementing new types of mobilities promoting environmental sustainability. Taking into account that the EU aims to overcome regimes of petroleumbased mobility and associated architectures, it intends to demonstrate how the land-based transportation of both individuals and commodities in the E-Road network functions as an actor of planetary urbanization. It investigates three kinds of nodes within the E-Road network – the nodes encountered on the E-Roads, those to be found at the gates to cities and the new structures aiming to imitate the urban dimension but proposing a novel articulation of pedestrian and automobile circulation – and relates them to overarching approaches in the design of mobility. Urban, Planning and Transport Research, 9 (1) ISSN:2165-0020

The number of electric vehicle (EV) users is strongly increasing so that today roughly every second registered vehicle in Norway is an EV. To increase the EV utilization, politics, industry and the EV users strongly promote the integration of fast charging infrastructure. While the future demand of fast charging sites is a well-studied topic, not much is known about the utilization of the existing charging sites and daily load curves. To fill this knowledge gap, usage data of a charging site in Oslo is analysed. Further on, the impact of a battery energy storage (BES) as well as a photovoltaic generator on peak load reduction is studied. The analysis shows variations and trends in the daily and weekly charging behaviour depending on the degree of utilization of the charging station. On average, a single EV user charges around 10 kWh in 19 min. Furthermore, the evidence indicates that EV users may have adapted fast charging as a part of their daily travels and it is not used only during long distance journeys. The results suggest that a BES can reduce the peak load by up to 55%. By adding a photovoltaic generator, a minor additional reduction of peak load is seen.

In the context of the arrival of electric vehicles on the car market, new mathematical models are needed to understand and predict the impact on the market shares. This research provides a comprehensive methodology to forecast the demand of a technology that is not widespread yet, such as electric cars. It aims at providing contributions regarding three issues related to the prediction of the demand for electric vehicles: survey design, model estimation, and forecasting. We develop a stated preferences (SP) survey with personalized choice situations involving standard gasoline/diesel cars and electric cars. We specify a hybrid choice model accounting for attitudes toward leasing contracts or practical aspects of a car in the decision-making process. A forecasting analysis based on the collected SP data and additional market information is performed to evaluate the future demand for electric cars.

Abstract In explaining how socio-technical transitions occur, prevailing theories focus on bottom-up processes driven by new entrants, diverse actors and open-ended exploration in small, protected niches. Incumbent firms are frequently portrayed as hampering change, while managerial strategies using traditional public policy instruments remain understudied. Addressing this bias, we examine strategies used by networks of incumbent state and industry actors in China, Japan and California to accelerate the production and diffusion of battery-electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles. We build a comprehensive framework that systematically marries mechanisms of industrial transformation described in developmental-state literature with theories of socio-technical change from transitions scholarship. We then use a vast dataset of secondary documents and interviews to examine the principal strategies employed in each country, identifying variations over two phases of technological diffusion. Findings reveal that the incumbent actor networks in each country have collectively employed multiple but similar strategies. Yet closer inspection of specific policy instruments, such as regulations and performance-based incentives, along with ambitions to phase out vehicles with internal combustion engines, reveals differences across cases. We explain these by considering different motivations for each country’s transition and influencing socio-political conditions. Our study contributes to the enrichment of future transitions research in at least two ways. Theoretically, by integrating literature on transitions and developmental states, we deepen understanding of how incumbent state and market actors can attempt to drive socio-technical change. Empirically, our analysis provides important evidence for understanding the strategies driving top-down transitions outside northern Europe, and the conditions affecting instrument choice.

In the pathways towards the commercialisation of wave energy systems, the need for reliable mathematical models is of paramount importance for the design and synthesis of model-based control techniques to maximise the performance of wave energy converters (WECs). Furthermore, these offshore marine systems are held in position by the use of mooring systems, which have recently been analysed beyond survivability conditions to investigate their influence on control synthesis and device performance. In this study, we delve into the complex challenge of incorporating relevant mooring dynamics in defining a representative control action while also examining the influence of wave directionality on the overall procedure. For the specific case of a spread mooring system, where the hull cannot weathervane and operates based on directionality, control synthesis must be performed taking into account this characteristic of the resource. In this context, because it is able to harvest energy from only the bow-directed waves, the PeWEC is considered as a representative case study. The control synthesis is realised using a tailored data-based model, and device performance is evaluated across different site conditions while accounting for wave direction. Among our overall conclusions, we show that neglecting the directionality of the wave resource for the PeWEC case study can lead to an overestimation of device performance of up to 50%, even though a prevalent wave direction exists at the site.