Assessment of freight vehicle characteristics and impact of future policy interventions on their emissions in Delhi

Abstract

Vehicle emission inventory forms a critical element for the air pollution studies. The methodology for capturing intercity freight fleet operations is already available. However, urban freight activity and characteristics may be quite different from intercity freight operations. The present study thus aims to provide a generalised methodology to capture urban freight operations data relevant to emission estimates. Delhi has been selected as the case study city to illustrate the application of the proposed methodology. In order to quantify freight fleet emissions, relevant freight fleet characteristics such as age distribution, fuel distribution, fuel economy, and the number of in-use freight vehicles are established through on-field surveys. Further, special attention is paid to quantify the contribution of previously neglected external freight trips entering Delhi to the city’s air pollution. Comprehensive disaggregated analysis for external freight trips terminating in Delhi and transiting through Delhi is presented. 72-hour traffic count and a 24-hour origin and destination surveys are conducted at 17 entry locations of Delhi. Based on the captured characteristics, different emission scenarios are estimated for future policy intervention in the city. The developed methodology will serve as a means of generating emission relevant freight data for various urban areas. Integration of the urban and non-urban freight characteristics is expected to offer a robust and reliable national road freight transport emissions.