Effects Of Car Use Research Articles

Trolleybus power supply system with high-voltage battery

Public transport in cities in recent years has received more attention to increase the comfort of life in megacities. The economic and environmental performance of cities can be improved by efficiently connecting public transport resources and increasing vehicle mobility. Over the last two decades, there has been a huge increase in population in developing countries. Population growth has led to an increase in demand for mobility. If the transport infrastructure is not able to meet the requirements, it leads to an increase in the waiting time for public transport and congestion on the streets. Public transport can be more attractive by providing door-to-door mobility, and the development of transport services is an important factor for life in megacities. Transport sustainability, environmental conditions, health and economic well-being can be enhanced by moving to more mobile public transport. Simply put, mobility by public transport makes it possible to reduce the adverse effects of car use on the environment and health. The level of mobility of the city can be improved by providing a well-organized transport system. Therefore, the accessibility of public transport stops, the connectivity of public transport modes and the mobility of the system should be considered to ensure a user-friendly public transport system. The purpose of this article is to create a trolleybus power supply system with a high-voltage battery, which would reduce the load on the network during vehicle acceleration, and with the help of an additional converter was able to recover energy during braking to the battery. Therefore, the article considered the modes of movement of the trolleybus and on the basis of these data proposed a power supply system using a rechargeable battery. This type of vehicle power supply will increase the mobility of the trolleybus due to the use of a power battery, which in turn is useful in traffic jams, accidents, as well as in the absence of a network. The calculation of inverters required for the operation of such a system is shown. The control will take place by means of a relay control, which will allow the trolleybus to move autonomously, as well as allow it to store energy to the battery.

Evaluation of the potential of classic and electric bicycle commuting as an impetus for the transition towards environmentally sustainable cities: A case study of the university campuses in Liege, Belgium

To address the negative effects of car use, conventional and electric bicycles are often proposed as environment-friendly alternatives. The aim of this research is to identify the prospects of a modal shift towards conventional and electric bicycles based on a case study analysing the mobility generated by the three main campuses of the University of Liège in Belgium. In the theoretical part of this paper, the known factors and strategies that affect most of the bicycle use in Europe are summarised and the need for a deeper understanding of the elements that promote a modal shift from bus and car users to the use of electric bicycles is highlighted. Consequently, the results of a survey conducted among the university population of the University of Liège(students, PhD students, and staff members; including 1496 questionnaire responses)are presented and analysed in detail. The Net Promoter Score (NPS), as an indicator of the user satisfaction, confirms that the bicycle has the best NPS compared with the main modes of transport (car and bus) and that the electric bicyclehas a greater NPS than the conventional bicycle. The importance of many factors affecting the use of cycling is lower if we consider the electric bicycleinstead of the conventional bicycle. Considering the current travel patterns in terms of the distances travelled, the potential for the use of conventional bicycles only reaches 23% of the university users, whereas that of electric bicycles reaches 70%. In the pursuit of a modal report, the most imminent factor is the development of safe bike paths, where a potential increase in the bicycle use is acknowledged by 74% of the students, 62% of the staff members, 62% of the car users, and 82% of the bus users. Finally, because the lack of safe cycle lanes remains the major obstacle with respect to the use of both bicycle types, the development and/or improvement of a comfortable and secure infrastructure for cyclists within a radius of 12 km from the main school and work places, especially in the main residential and commercial areas, should be prioritised to promote the use of both types of bicycles.

Assessment of the external effects of car use in urban and rural areas of modern Russia

The purpose of this study is to assess and differentiate between the externalities imposed on people living in rural and urban areas of Russia. The hypothesis of the study is that people living in areas with different levels of urbanization have different views on the pros and cons of mass car ownership. As a result of this study, various types of the positive and negative external effects of mass car ownership were identified. A survey was conducted on people living in Sverdlovsk Region to assess the externalities. The survey was conducted in October 2018. For the purposes of analysis, the filled questionnaires were divided on the basis of car ownership. Of the 390 respondents aged 18 and above, 62% had a car and 38% did not. The main differentiation factor in the perception of the effects is the respondents’ place of residence. A relationship was proven between the size of the place of residence and the score that the respondents gave to the positive and negative effects of mass car ownership: the smaller the area, the higher they appreciate the positive effects and the lower score they give to the negative effects of mass car ownership. Consequently, the bigger the settlement where the respondents live, the smaller score they give to the positive effects and the bigger emphasis they place on the negative effects of mass car ownership. The assessment of externalities can be used to justify the amount of transport payments in urban and rural areas.

Socio-demographic characteristics, psychological factors and knowledge related to electric car use: A comparison between electric and conventional car drivers

Increasing number of drivers are using electric cars either as their main or additional car. It is important to make a distinction between sole electric car drivers and drivers of both an electric and a conventional car to understand whether determinants of electric car use differ across these sub-groups. The main aim of the present study was to make comparisons among owners of sole electric car, both electric and conventional cars, and sole conventional car for demographic characteristics, travel mode use, psychological factors and knowledge related to electric car use in a Norwegian sample of car drivers. In addition, factors that predict type of car/s (electric, conventional or both electric and conventional) owned by the drivers were investigated. An online survey, with a response rate of 11%, was used to collect data from 663 Norwegian car drivers including both electric and conventional car drivers. The MANCOVA results showed that the most substantial differences in the measured constructs were between the sole electric car owners and the sole conventional car owners, whereas there were fewer differences between those who only own an electric car and those who own both an electric and a conventional car. Compared to the conventional car owners, electric car owners were younger and had a higher education and income level, and they reported more car use and higher level of knowledge about electric cars. In addition, electric car owners agreed with the positive attributes of electric cars more and reported higher level of personal norm, ascription of responsibility and awareness of consequences related to effects of car use to the environment. Finally, multinomial logistic regression results showed that attributes of electric cars were the strongest group of variables that increased probability of electric car ownership.

Applying the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) to identify design opportunities for improved passenger car eco-effectiveness

The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) is applied to identify design opportunities towards lean fuel consumption of passenger cars and related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The system of interest is enlarged to add a behavioral dimension (the level of occupation for each use situation) to the technological dimension (the passenger car). TRIZ leads to the ideation of a reconfigurable passenger car. An emergent implication of the proposal is its theoretical ability to attenuate the rebound effects of car use by adapting vehicle’s configuration to different use-cases, which is relevant given current automobility patterns and the European policy towards CO2 emission reduction. This result is relevant within the context of the transport policy. Disruptive solutions such as the proposals for modularity at the system level of the product architecture in a passenger car are relevant for the set of technological options of vehicle lightweighting for climate change strategy. The potential to change the market structures, improving energy efficiency, and fostering behavioral change is inherent to this option of vehicle lightweighting.

The feasibility of introducing light rail systems in medium-sized towns in Central Europe

The article makes a case for introducing light rail systems in medium-sized towns and cities in Central Europe and analyses the feasibility of such a project. This is particularly important in the context of the paradigm of mobilities and the idea of sustainable development. Contemporary urban planning has yet to find a satisfactory answer to the question of how to diminish the negative consequences of individual transport without placing inordinate limitations on the natural human desire for mobility. It would seem that the increasingly negative effects of car use – for which bus transport provides no attractive alternative – are fast creating a need for a means of public transport that is not only separated from street traffic, but that is also effective and environmentally friendly. These requirements are met to the fullest extent by light rail systems such as trams, tram-trains and various hybrid solutions.

Mobilizing meanings of mobility: car users’ constructions of the goods and bads of car use

When car users’ are questioned about the advantages and disadvantages of car use the focus should not be on what they say, but on how they present their arguments to the interviewer. This paper shows such arguments can differ in kind. Swedish car users present the advantages––such as ‘time-saving’––by referring to personal and direct experience. The disadvantages are of two kinds. Some are related to direct experience, such as ‘costs’. Some are made credible by reference to public discourse, notably ‘environmental degradation’. This indicates that the facts about the advantages and environmental impacts are constructed in different ways. Facts about the advantages and some of the disadvantages are constructed in a direct and unreflexive way, situated in practical actions, and leave little room for negotiation. Facts about environmental impacts are constructed by others in a distanced and reflexive process, situated in laboratories, etc. Car users adopt these facts through various media. While the arguments on the advantages of car use are presented as unquestionable and absolute, scientific facts about the negative effects of car use are presented as relative and negotiable. This should be seen as a possible explanation why people do not reduce their own car use, although they say that car use in general ought to be limited.

Global Warming and the Car

This paper provides, from a UK perspective, a review of current developments in the debate on global warming and the effects of car use as a contributory factor in global warming. It discusses the options available to counteract the intra and inter-country externalities created by car use, and the prospects of achieving reductions in car use. The paper concludes with a discussion of appropriate policy measures for balancing the conflicts between car use and the environment.

National policy towards cars: Greece

Abstract Passenger car ownership and use in Greece has been a matter of serious consideration at government level, only in the last decade with the increasing traffic congestion in the big cities. However, government policy towards private car ownership has always been influenced by two main factors. First, that virtually all vehicles have to be imported, a fact which has a serious balance of payments implication for a small country like Greece. Second, the traditional heavy taxation of motor vehicles and fuel, brings high revenues for the national budget. Recently a third consideration has been added, that of energy consumption and of the environmental effects of car use. From the point of view of car owners, ownership was originally seen as a means of social recognition and establishment, but for the last decade it has been considered mainly as an everyday necessity more or less imposed on one, by a number of other well accepted facts of everyday social and professional life. Influenced by the two main factors above; private car ownership and use in Greece has developed for the last two decades at a pace similar to but not the same as in other Western Countries. In this paper the existing situation and prospects will be examined and comments made on the peculiarities characterizing the Greek scene.