• Energy Research

Abstract The ever-increasing use of private vehicles makes Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) more necessary as they improve users’ convenience, safety and travel time. Although these systems offer significant advantages, they call into question the traditional role of users, making the psychology of drivers towards these technologies a necessary factor for their adoption. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of psychological factors on the use of one of the most widely used ADAS, the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Towards this direction, a literature review was conducted to identify the factors that influence drivers’ behavior and the psychology of drivers towards new technologies. Furthermore, a questionnaire survey was organized in Greece, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, including additional variables, which were identified in the literature, such as technophilia, trust in technology and endorsement. From the data collected, models predicting the behavior of drivers were developed through structural equation modelling, concerning the use of navigation systems in both urban and interurban networks. The findings of the research reveal that the intention to use a navigation system is determined by various factors such as behavioral beliefs about its usage, normative beliefs and technophilia. The actual use of a navigation system depends to some extent on this intention.

Abstract The ever-increasing tendency of people to travel by motorized vehicles contributes significantly to air pollution and traffic problems. Active travel, namely walking and cycling, seems to be a feasible solution to the current situation in urban mobility. The present paper aims at investigating the effects of active travel in health and quality of life and determine those factors that affect travel behavior. A structured literature review was carried out, which revealed the strong association of walking/cycling with the containment of noncommunicable diseases and the invigoration of wellbeing and self-confidence. In addition, a questionnaire survey was conducted in Greece, addressing the attitudes and perceptions of 507 people towards active travel, health and quality of life. Results showed that participants have a more positive attitude about walking compared to cycling, while characteristics such as age, gender, body mass index, physical and health conditions determine active commuting and consequently life satisfaction.

Abstract The present paper aims at analysing the concept of “urban interchanges” as a solution towards seamless transportation and sustainable mobility. Based on an extensive review of policies, initiatives and data analysis coming from interviews and meetings with stakeholders, a coherent interchange design typology was formulated that links seamless transport and urban interchanges to spatial and urban planning. Focusing on the impact of user satisfaction as a priority towards user travel choices, a list of indicators was valuated. The comparative analysis of interchange typology performance formulated by the users’ perception regarding network accessibility, surrounding area, offered interchange time facilities and environmentally friendly services and infrastructure revealed fruitful findings on proper interchange design towards sustainability and reformation of the city-hubs into true green urban interchanges.

AbstractThe booming increase in the need for passenger and freight transport concerning both interurban and urban context during the last two decades has resulted in deep impact in human and natural environment. Towards the alleviation of consequences, the decision makers consider various smart logistics solutions, which do not always results in the desired impacts. The key concept of the methodology presented in this paper is the incorporation of an evaluation framework and the estimation of the assessment indicators for smart logistics solutions, to be used in the decision-making of the involved stakeholders. Such solutions fall into two sub-categories: “administrative and regulatory schemes and incentives” and “cooperative logistics”.The paper presents:•an integrated evaluation framework for city logistics which incorporates the complexity of interconnecting interurban and urban freight transport and the life cycle of the smart solutions;•the impact of these solutions on the city performance and business viability and sustainability, based on a pilot implementation;•guidance for implementing these solutions through the establishment of communications links and collaborations amongst the involved stakeholders.

Abstract This paper introduces a decision tree approach, which can be used for the assessment of the design, operation and services provided at urban transport interchanges. Realizing a customer satisfaction survey, feedback was received from 239 users of the Riga International Coach Terminal on crucial attributes, including: travel information, wayfinding information, time and movement, access, comfort and convenience, station attractiveness, safety and security, emergency situation handling and overall satisfaction. Findings revealed the most significant parameters that need to be addressed in order to increase users’ satisfaction, which can gradually improve the overall attractiveness of the terminal and the efficient provision of its services.

Abstract Purpose Policy implementation in the logistics sector might drive unexpected side-effects which sometimes undermine the performance of key economic activities of logistics operators, especially in areas such as transport service, sustainability of operations, etc. Especially for the latter, there is a lack of understanding how the sustainability performance if retail logistics solutions is impacted on by policy implementation and, in turn, by operators’ responsive measures. This paper conducts a sustainability analysis of concrete innovative and already tested retail logistics solutions addressing the research question “what are the effects of retail logistics solutions on total costs and sustainability performance?” Methods The analysis relies on the development and application of an indicator-based framework based on the key sustainability components (economy, environment, society) and enriched by the addition of the transport component. The framework assesses three different scenarios together with a business-as-is one: Urban Consolidation Centre, Tethering and Shared Bus accompanied with a Strengths-Weaknesses analysis. Data are provided by an international food retailer operating within the city of Antwerp, Belgium, but conclusions can be generalized due to wider applicability of measures and solutions examined. Results External costs analysis shows that higher degree of internalization is achieved in the line-haul transport. Within an urban context, the measures that do not require significant initial investment and broad interventions are assessed as the most sustainable in our analysis. Tethering is the solution that indicates the highest sustainability score. Conclusions The impact of innovative and already tested solutions relies on a variety of factors: organizational, urban context, type of goods transported, engagement of stakeholders, etc.. In any case, innovation is crucial for urban retail logistics impacting on transport service, society, economy and environment. Any new retail business model should be designed with respect to cost efficiency and through a socially acceptable transition path.

The CO2 reduction promise must be widely adopted if governments are to decrease future emissions and alter the trajectory of urban mobility. However, from a long-term perspective, the strategic vision of CO2 mitigation is driven by inherent uncertainty and unanticipated volatility. As these issues emerge, they have a considerable impact on the future trends produced by a number of exogenous and endogenous factors, including Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal aspects (PESTEL). This study’s goal is to identify, categorize, and analyze major PESTEL factors that have an impact on the dynamics of urban mobility in a rapidly changing environment. For the example scenario of the city of Larissa, Greece, a Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM) approach was employed to examine the dynamic interactions and behaviors of the connected criteria from the previous PESTEL categories. An integrative strategy that evaluates the interaction of linguistic evaluations in the FCM is used to include all stakeholders in the creation of a Decision Support System (DSS). The methodology eliminates the uncertainty brought on by a dearth of quantitative data. The scenarios in the study strands highlight how urbanization’s effects on sustainable urban transportation and the emergence of urban PESTEL actors impact on CO2 reduction decision-making. We focus on the use case of Larissa, Greece (the city of the CIVITAS program), which began putting its sustainable urban development plan into practice in 2015. The proposed decision-making tool uses analytics and optimization algorithms to point responsible authorities and decision-makers in the direction of Larissa’s sustainable urban mobility and eventually the decarbonization of the urban and suburban regions.

Abstract The present paper aims at measuring the satisfaction of travellers and stakeholders on perceived quality of service provided at the Latvian interchange “Riga International Coach Terminal” and understand whether there are any gaps between the two groups of involved parties, based on their perceptions and expectations. To this end, a travellers’ attitudinal survey was organized and interviews with representative stakeholders were conducted, in order to capture and analyse their attitudes and preferences and extract those attributes that affect their satisfaction. Results showed that the interchange performs well in physical quality attributes, such as travel and wayfinding information provision, but in terms of access and aesthetics expectations in the internal and external design, some contradictory findings were revealed between travellers and stakeholders, validating the fact that understanding users’ perceptions can work as vital input to policy makers’ perceptions of an integrated sustainable public transport system.