• Energy Research
• 11. Sustainability close
• EU close
• ES close
• Transport Research close

Transport is an important source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Although the applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for transport, also known as intelligent transport systems, are seen as having great potential to help reduce emissions from road transport, their exact impact on CO2 emissions are uncertain for decision makers from government to industry. This uncertainty hinders the deployment of such applications. Therefore there is a need for a common evaluation approach to assess the CO2 impact of ICT measures in a systemic and realistic way. In this study, a methodology framework to evaluate the impact of ICT measures on CO2 emissions is explained. The methodology was developed within the European Union FP7 project Amitran. In particular, this study focuses on the outline and the framework architecture of the methodology as well as the required interfaces between the required models. The use of the methodology is demonstrated by applying it to a use case of dynamic traffic light systems. Finally, the efforts made to validate the methodology and make it accessible to users are explained.

In recent years, a ban on short-haul flights for which alternative, more environmentally friendly transportation is available has been on European regulatory agendas, particularly in countries like Germany, with its well-developed high-speed rail (HSR) and a dense network of low-cost, point-to-point airline traffic. This study aims to quantify the potential impact on CO2 emissions of substituting short-haul flights with rail frequencies in 87 German air travel corridors. Using OAG data on passenger bookings and airline schedules for 2019, as well as current rail travel times, we determine the target flights by looking at the actual proportion of connecting passengers per frequency. We estimate a potential reduction in CO2 emissions of between 2.7% and 22%, depending on how strict the flight substitution is. However, the social benefits of those carbon emissions might fall short of the travel time losses experienced by the passengers. Increased investment to improve rail speeds and intermodal accessibility appears necessary before the substitution policies can be implemented.

Abstract The concept of smart mobility and tourism has evolved from a technology-driven approach to one that focuses on sustainable solutions to address economic, social, and environmental issues. The United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) provide a framework for measuring and tracking progress toward sustainability goals. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are a useful tool for measuring and tracking progress towards these goals, allowing for continuous monitoring and evaluation of progress, identification of areas for improvement, and directing targeted interventions. This research aims to develop an indicators-based framework to evaluate the sustainability of smart and sustainable mobility and tourism in rural areas. Rural areas have often been neglected, or at least less prioritized, in the sustainability development of the mobility sector. The study also seeks to identify the overlap of KPIs between rural tourism and mobility, and how improved green mobility services can enhance sustainable rural tourism. Smart mobility and tourism indicators have a strong mutual relationship in rural communities, driving economic development, improving the quality of life for residents and visitors, and creating more sustainable and livable communities. Smart mobility and tourism indicators also play a crucial role in supporting the UN SDGs by providing data and insights that can inform policy and decision-making. The results of this research conclude how the target and performance setting of projects on sustainable mobility and tourism in rural communities support each other, and how they support achieving SDGs.

The Human Mobility Transition model describes shifts in mobility dynamics and transport systems. The aspirational stage, ‘human urbanism’, is characterised by high active travel, universal public transport, low private vehicle use and equitable access to transport. We explored factors associated with travel behaviour in Africa and the Caribbean, investigating the potential to realise ‘human urbanism’ in this context. We conducted a mixed-methods systematic review of ten databases and grey literature for articles published between January 2008 and February 2019. We appraised study quality using Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklists. We narratively synthesized qualitative and quantitative data, using meta-study principles to integrate the findings. We identified 39,404 studies through database searching, mining reviews, reference screening, and topic experts’ consultation. We included 129 studies (78 quantitative, 28 mixed-methods, 23 qualitative) and 33 grey literature documents. In marginalised groups, including the poor, people living rurally or peripheral to cities, women and girls, and the elderly, transport was poorly accessible, travel was characterised by high levels of walking and paratransit (informal public transport) use, and low private vehicle use. Poorly controlled urban growth (density) and sprawl (expansion), with associated informality, was a salient aspect of this context, resulting in long travel distances and the necessity of motorised transportation. There were existing population-level assets in relation to ‘human urbanism’ (high levels of active travel, good paratransit coverage, low private vehicle use) as well as core challenges (urban sprawl and informality, socioeconomic and gendered barriers to travel, poor transport accessibility). Ineffective mobility systems were a product of uncoordinated urban planning, unregulated land use and subsequent land use conflict. To realise ‘human urbanism’, integrated planning policies recognising the linkages between health, transport and equity are needed. A shift in priority from economic growth to a focus on broader population needs and the rights and wellbeing of ordinary people is required. Policymakers should focus attention on transport accessibility for the most vulnerable.

Currently, traffic intensity in large cities and their surroundings constitute the main unsustainability factor associated with urban transport, leading to significant traffic speed reduction due to high levels of congestion. Road pricing seems to be a measure of transport policy capable of improving efficiency and sustainability in urban transport, reducing traffic intensity and increasing traffic speed, as reflected in the main road pricing indicators currently in operation (Singapore, London, Stockholm, Milan…). Based on the data obtained through a mobility survey applied to a theoretical design of road pricing for the city of Madrid, we developed a traffic speed forecast model using time series analysis, to which we applied the mobility survey results. The research results show that theoretical urban road pricing could imply very significant positive effects in traffic speed increase and congestion reduction, fundamentally in the city center and metropolitan crown, as well as demonstrating positive effects in the improvement of traffic speed in those municipalities furthest from the urban center. Moreover, our findings reveal that road pricing would allow an average traffic speed increase in the protected area of the city center during the operating hours of between 10% and 32.5%: 15.9% in the metropolitan crown, 10% in M-30, and 32.5% in the case of Madrid’s city center.

Automation carries paradigm-shifting potential for urban transport and has critical sustainability dimensions for the future of our cities. This article examines the diverse environmental and energy-related dimensions of automated mobility at the city level by reviewing an emerging and increasingly diversified volume of literature for road, rail, water, and air passenger transport. The multimodal nature of this investigation provides the opportunity for a novel contribution that adds value to the literature in four distinctive ways. It reviews from a sustainability angle the state of the art underpinning the transition to a paradigm of automated mobility, identifies current knowledge gaps highlighting the scarcity of non-technical research outside the autonomous car's realm, articulates future directions for research and policy development, and proposes a conceptual model that contextualizes the automation-connectivity-electrification-sharing-multimodality nexus as the only way forward for vehicle automation to reach its pro-environmental and resource-saving potential.

The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) by consumers is regarded as a key strategic goal for the reduction in transport-related air pollution levels. Although sales of EVs continue to rise year on year, generally, the attainment of the strategic goals set by various governments for the adoption of EVs remains a distant target. The purpose of this study is to identify the customer profile of early adopters of EVs in Spain: one of Europe’s largest economies, yet the country with the lowest uptake of EVs at present. The analysis presented here is based on an online survey of 404 potential consumers of EVs in Spain. A cluster analysis of the data was performed based on a set of three socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, and income), one psychographic (green moral obligation—GMO) and two EV attributes (price and driving range). The results of this analysis showed that there exist two segments with respect to higher or lower customer intentions related to the adoption of EVs. These findings represent a theoretical contribution to current understanding of the customer profile of adopters of EVs and will contribute to the development of communication and retail strategies aimed at customers fitting the profile of early adopters of new technologies.