Sustainable Means Of Transport Research Articles

Sustainable mobility challenges – case study of the offshore center in Gdansk transport accessibility

Urban mobility planning is one of the key elements in building a sustainable future. Strategic management of urban transport traffic not only reduces congestion and minimises the negative impact on the environment but also positively affects the improvement of residents' quality of life. Furthermore, following the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive approved by the European Union in 2023, companies are obliged to submit annual reports on their environmental impact. One of its elements is the calculation of the organization's carbon footprint, which includes emissions caused by means of transport, including emissions from commuting to work. This case study investigates the impact of transport accessibility on employee preferences and behaviour in the context of changing the premises location, using the example of the Maritime Institute of Gdynia Maritime University (GMU), located at the newly opened Offshore Center in Gdansk seaport. The research hypothesis states that the relocation to new premises with limited transport accessibility may, as a consequence, influence the choice of commuting transportation methods among employees, potentially leading to a shift towards less sustainable means of transport. The results of the research survey prove that there is a complex interconnection between transport accessibility, commuting behaviours, and sustainable mobility initiatives. This pilot study aims to contribute to urban mobility planning by exploring how to transport accessibility influences employee behaviour and by proposing strategies to improve commuting conditions and promote more sustainable solutions.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ROLE IN OPTIMIZING ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING PATTERNS, REDUCE COSTS, AND IMPROVE OVERALL EFFICIENCY: A REVIEW

The global popularity of electric cars (EVs) as a sustainable means of transportation, reliable and efficient charging infrastructure is essential. Traditional electric vehicle charging involves connecting the car to a power source and waiting for the battery to charge. However, AI has allowed us to improve charging patterns, reduce costs, and boost efficiency. This article examines how AI algorithms are changing electric car charging. If electric vehicle (EV) charging and discharging are not coordinated, the power supply infrastructure will be overrun. Demand response like dynamic pricing might encourage electric vehicle owners to participate in scheduling initiatives. Thus, EV charging and discharging scheduling and dynamic pricing model research are crucial. Artificial intelligence-based models for EV charging predictions and scheduling have been the focus of researchers. These models outperform linear, exponential, and multinomial logit optimization approaches. Due to the novelty and ongoing development of EVs returning electricity to the power grid, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems have received little attention. Thus, a complete analysis of EV charging and discharging research is needed to identify gaps and improve future studies. This study categorizes EV charging and discharging studies into forecasting, scheduling, and pricing techniques. The work links forecasting, scheduling, and pricing processes and identifies research gaps in EV discharge scheduling and dynamic pricing models.

Analysis of Perceptions of Cycling Safety on Roads with Mixed Traffic Depending on Age, Gender, and Riding Experience

Promoting cycling as a sustainable mode of transport necessitates understanding how individuals perceive the risks associated with bicycling based on age, gender, and riding experience. This study addresses a critical gap in the field of traffic by examining cyclists' perceptions of risk and safety on mixed-traffic roads. Despite increased interest in promoting cycling as a sustainable means of transportation, research on this topic is rare. Therefore, this study aims to contribute to existing literature on cyclist perceptions and cycling safety on roads with mixed traffic by examining the significant differences that may exist among age groups, genders, and individuals with varying riding experiences. The research focuses on roads lacking distinct bicycle paths and characterized by heterogeneous traffic streams. The study surveyed 120 cyclists on 13 roads in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. Safety perception, measured using a Likert scale (1–5), was the dependent variable. Non-parametric methods, specifically the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests, were employed to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. The results revealed statistically significant differences between genders (Mann-Whitney test: U = 720; Z = -5.887, p = 0.000 < 0.05; r = -0.537), between groups with and without riding experience (Mann-Whitney test: U = 1240.5; Z = -2.59; p = 0.01; r = -0.236), and among age groups (Kruskal Wallis test: df = 4; p = 0.022 < 0.05). With Bonferroni correction, post hoc analysis using the Mann-Whitney test demonstrated significant differences (adjusted p < 0.0125) between at least two age groups. The median perception of general safety was at Likert scale 3 (average safety), while the perception of comfort was at level 2 (uncomfortable). These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers involved in urban planning, offering targeted strategies to enhance cycling safety based on age, gender, and riding experience. The findings highlight the complicated interaction of these elements and their impact on riders' safety perceptions. By understanding these dynamics, policymakers and urban planners may build targeted interventions and infrastructure upgrades to promote safer and more inclusive riding environments. This work adds to the field by shining light on the elements that influence cyclists' risk perception, eventually guiding methods for improving cycling safety and boosting the use of bicycles as a sustainable transportation choice. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-SP2023-09-011 Full Text: PDF

Analyzing the blockades to electric vehicle mobility in an emerging economy: Toward a triple bottom line sustainable development

AbstractThe emerging economies are moving toward electric vehicles (EVs), which are much sustainable means of transportation. However, many social, economic, and technological blockades of EV mobility remain to be addressed. The study investigates social, economic, and technological blockades for e‐mobility in an emerging economy and simultaneously concentrating on their existing and future business implications. Identification of e‐mobility blockades is obtained through literature review and consensus of the experts. Kappa analysis is used to strain the priority map of the mentioned blockades on the basis of developing consensus among experts. Thereafter, a multi criteria decision making approach that is, best‐worst method is adopted to rank the identified potential blockades. The study models the social, economic, and technological blockades of EV mobility in context of emerging economy. To cater blockades in a desired sequence, the study further suggests the ranking sequence of blockades to enhance e‐mobility toward sustainable development. The findings from the study reveals that “costs associated with EVs and “the lack of government policies, standards, and regulations” are the most important blockades to sustainable EV adoption. Thus, the organizations and the Government need to find ways to reduce the cost of EVs and simultaneously should plan and develop policies to enhance EV adoption and to reduce the usage of gasoline vehicles. The third most important blockade that is, “low demand due to undetermined sustainable benefits” indicates that there is an urgent need to spread awareness among the consumers about the sustainable benefits for the adoption of EVs. Further, the sensitivity analysis reveals that sensitivity range for weightage of the group of academicians lies between 0.3 and 0.7 on a scale of 1. If more weightage is provided to the practical scenario, it is discovered that “location of charging station (BEV4)” is more important than “lack of flexible distribution network (BEV2)” to enhance the amount of EV adoption in India. The study provides insights to practitioners dealing with e‐mobility in emerging economies, showing the appropriate sequence of the blockades to help them build up strategies to mitigate these blockades.

Online Car-Pooling System

Abstract: Carpooling is a popular means of transportation, especially for commuters who want to save money and reduce their carbon footprint. A carpooling website can be a useful tool for organizing ridesharing arrangements, allowing people to connect with others who are heading in the same direction. In this project, we will develop a carpooling website using Python. The website will have features such as user registration and login, ride creation and search, and payment processing. Carpooling is a sustainable means of transportation that is gaining popularity worldwide.

A New Perspective on Supporting Vulnerable Road Users' Safety, Security and Comfort through Personalized Route Planning.

Due to an increase in population, urban centers are currently seeing an increase in traffic, resulting in negative consequences such as pollution and congestion. Efforts have been made to promote a modal shift towards the use of more sustainable means of transport, such as walking and cycling, but several deterrents influence the citizens' perceptions of safety, security and comfort, discouraging their choice of active modes of transport. This study focuses on the importance of providing meaningful information to vulnerable road users (VRUs) to support their perceptions and objectives while moving within urban spaces through a novel concept of route planning. A broad survey of the needs and concerns of VRUs through interviews, focus groups and questionnaires, applied to the Portuguese population of the Metropolitan Area of Porto, led to the development of a new concept of route planners that show personalized routes according to the individual perceptions of each user. This concept is materialized in a route planner prototype that has been extensively tested by potential users. Subjective evaluation and feedback showed the usefulness of the concept and added value to a familiar product, leading to a satisfying experience for participants. This study shows that there is an opportunity to improve these tools to provide a higher degree of power and customization to users on route planning, which includes addressing mobility restrictions and personal perceptions of safety, security and comfort. The ultimate goal of this new approach is to persuade citizens to switch to more sustainable means of transport.

The Impact of Ride-Hailing Services on Congestion: Evidence from Indian Cities

Problem definition: Early research has documented significant growth in ride-hailing services worldwide and allied benefits. However, growing evidence of their negative externalities is leading to significant policy scrutiny. Despite demonstrated socioeconomic benefits and consumer surplus worth billions of dollars, cities are choosing to curb these services in a bid to mitigate first order urban mobility problems. Existing studies on the congestion effects of ride-hailing are limited, report mixed evidence, and exclusively focus on the United States, where the supply consists primarily of part-time drivers. Methodology/results: We study how the absence of ride-hailing services affects congestion levels in three major cities in India, a market where most ride-hailing drivers participate full time. Using rich real-time traffic and route trajectory data from Google Maps, we show that in, all three cities, periods of ride-hailing unavailability due to driver strikes see a discernible drop in travel time. The effects are largest for the most congested regions during the busiest hours, which see 10.1%–14.8% reduction in travel times. Additionally, we provide suggestive evidence for some of the mechanisms behind the observed effects, including deadheading elimination, substitution with public transit, and opening up of shorter alternative routes. Managerial implications: These results suggest that despite their paltry modal share, ride-hailing vehicles are substituting more sustainable means of transport and are contributing significantly to congestion in the cities studied. The reported effect sizes quantify the maximum travel time gains that can be expected on curbing them. Funding: This work was supported by the Srini Raju Center for Information Technology and the Networked Economy at Indian School of Business. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.1158 .

Evaluating transport sustainability in metropolitan Athens through a cable car proposal as a partial alternative to the announced metro Line 4.

Transport sector bears a significant share of responsibility for today’s society environmental issues. In this context, transport ought to include sustainable design principles in the early stages of development of each project. The present work examines an alternative proposal for Metropolitan Athens urban transport, introducing an innovative solution that has recently emerged, urban cable cars. Through literature study and the review of other cities’ best practices, cable cars’ technical characteristics as well as favourable and limiting factors are analysed. A new cable car line is proposed as a partial alternative to line 4 of the Athens metro, which construction has been announced to begin soon. The area of interest covers Zografou and Kaisariani Municipalities, located just a throw stone away from the center of Athens. Comparison factors include capacity, travel time, accessibility, safety, construction time and cost, operating and maintenance costs, environmental impacts, social acceptance and travel quality. Results indicate that cable cars provide sufficient capacity for the specific area offering many environmental advantages and also better coverage, lower cost (both construction and maintenance), lower energy consumption and better travel quality. On the other hand, Athens metro line 4 is evaluated as over-designed according to the expected ridership. As the latest developments in technology show, cable cars are sustainable means of transport with great potential within the urban fabric, under certain circumstances. The contribution of this work relies on revealing alternative solutions to cities’ transit problems, which in terms of environmental design can be resolved without the need to invest in large-scale projects such as metros.

Electric Motorcycle: Study of Speed and Range

Abstract: In the world of ever-changing modes of transport, one that remains and will prevail even in future is Motorbike. In today era electric vehicles are considered as one of the most versatile and sustainable means of transport. Hence, the aim of this research paper is to compare ideal and real-life electric power train motorbike speed and range. This paper includes results conducted and tested effectively on a real-life working and fully functioning model of an Electric motor bike.

Comparing children and parental preferences for active commuting to school. A focus on Italian middle-school students

Active commuting to school has significant positive health and environmental impacts; however, the increasing use of private vehicles has transformed school commuting from an active to a passive activity. Our research is aimed at analyzing which factors influence the choice on how to commute to school with a special focus on the role played by the Covid-19 health emergency.We carried out an online survey involving a sample of 193 students of a middle school of Trieste (Italy) and 217 parents. We find that attitudes and perceptions of children and parents significantly differ with respect to both the risks and benefits of different means of transportation and with respect to the policies that should be implemented to support active commuting to school.Our study is innovative with respect to the age range we focused on, since most of the literature deals with young children (elementary school) or with adolescents (high school) whose modal choice are taken either by their parents or by the students themselves. With reference to middle school students, instead, it is expected that children and parents jointly take the choice on how to commute and it is relevant to detect the role played by each family member in the decision-making process.Our results will be useful to local administrators, policy-makers and decision-makers in order to design, implement and support transport and demand management policies that are effective in shifting the mobility habits of middle school students toward healthier and more sustainable means of transportation.

Evaluation of Land-Use Layout of the Rail Station Area Based on the Difference in Noise Sensitivity to Rail Transit, Taking a Suburb of Tokyo as an Example

Rail transit has been deemed a sustainable means of transportation, but its agglomeration effect and the noise therefrom create conflict. Generally, such conflict can be solved by designing the architecture and facilities of rail transit using noise-reduction methods. However, relevant studies have pointed out the limitations of such methods from the perspective of enforceability and social justice. Specifically, extensive monitoring of noise is difficult, and the cost of noise reduction is mostly borne by the surrounding residents. Thus, another question has been raised: Can we apply a land-use layout that takes into account the difference in sensitivity to rail noise of different types of land so as to weaken the negative impact of rail noise? In this paper, we adopted various methods of the characteristic price method, progressive multivariate regression analysis method and noise simulation method, and adopted the suburban rail transit system in Japan as the research object to analyze the impact of rail noise on the price of residential land within 200 m of the rail line. Additionally, we investigated the impact of the accessibility to the station site on the price of commercial and residential land within 800 m of the rail line. We also established the evaluation model on this basis. Lastly, we conducted a further discussion on the evaluation model by studying the re-development project of Tokyo’s Futako Tamagawa Station. The major conclusions in this paper are the following: rail noise is negatively related to the price of residential land within 200 m of the rail line; the price of commercial land within 800 m of the station site is negatively related to the station’s accessibility; and the price of residential land is unrelated to the station’s accessibility. According to the results of the analysis of Tokyo’s Futako Tamagawa Station, designing and arranging commercial land that is insensitive to rail noise in the area surrounding the rail line and using commercial buildings as a shield for the residential land behind them will be beneficial for weakening the negative impact of noise and maximizing the use of the commercial value generated by the station’s accessibility.

Investigating Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) Service for the Disabled through Survival Analysis

The importance of Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) has increased as it guarantees the right to travel and improves mobility for special population groups such as disabled people and low income households. In order for DRT to become a sustainable means of transportation, it is necessary to keep the quality of DRT service above a certain level that might be expected by users, and thus DRT service needs to be provided evenly over time and space. This study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics of DRT service based on waiting time in terms of service equity. For the analysis, operating data of DRT for people with disabilities provided from the Seoul Metropolitan Government were used and a survival analysis was employed to derive median waiting time. The results showed that there exists a difference in median waiting time over time and space, indicating that DRT service for disabled is not evenly provided over time and space. The results of using a heat map and Kernel density plot with median waiting time also confirmed that the spatiotemporal imbalances of DRT service exist throughout Seoul. One of the major reasons for this phenomenon might be the uneven spatiotemporal distribution of supply as expected.

Can persuasive normative messages encourage sustainable transportation usage?

One way to persuade people to change their travel behaviours is to execute strategies based on the provision of persuasive normative messages. Several studies have reported that providing information on social norms can lead people to perform different pro-environmental actions, such as energy and water conservation. However, in the transportation field, little research has investigated whether normative messages can be used to encourage people to switch from driving cars to using more sustainable means of transport. The aim of the current paper is to explore whether the intention to use different travel modes can be influenced by a persuasive normative message. In particular, we studied the different impacts of descriptive norm and injunctive norm information alongside more traditional factors on the intention to use a car, public transport, or active mobility. To perform our analysis, we developed three integrated choice and latent variables (ICLV) models using the information collected from an experimental study conducted among a sample of 340 individuals living in the area of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy). One of our modelling results indicates that individuals are more likely to use sustainable means of transport if they i) have previously used such means, ii) have a positive attitude toward them, iii) have an interest/involvement in using them, and iv) have been exposed to injunctive norms related to their use. Importantly, the computation of the pseudo-elasticity effect revealed that the impact of past behaviour is much stronger than the impact of normative messages.

Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Using Cargo Bikes in Cities: A Comprehensive Review of Existing Approaches

The impact of the use of cargo bicycles for delivery processes on the environment is undeniably positive: it leads to the reduction of pollutants, noise, and vibrations caused by traditional vehicles; decreases traffic jams; causes more effective use of public space; and others. But how should such an effect be measured? What tools should be used to justify the necessity for change to more sustainable means of transport? How can we improve the state of the environment considering the interests of logistics service providers? There is a large amount of scientific literature dedicated to this problem: by using different modeling approaches, authors attempt to address the issue of sustainable transport. This paper conducts a literature review in the field of green cargo deliveries, investigates the benefits and drawbacks of integrating cargo bikes in urban logistics schemes, and examines methodologies and techniques for evaluating the impact of using cargo bicycles on the environment. By providing an opportunity to get acquainted with the situation in the sphere of green deliveries, the authors aim to encourage a breakthrough in the field of sustainable transport that may be achieved by using cargo bikes in modern cities. We review the existing approaches and tools for modeling transport emissions and state the significant positive environmental consequences.

Sustainable Mobility in Universities: The Case of the University of Foggia (Italy)

Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that make up the 2030 Agenda and refer to different areas of social, economic and environmental development, goal 11.2 concerns access to safe, cheap, accessible and sustainable transport systems, increasing road safety particularly through the enhancement of public transport. Universities can also contribute to increasing the use of more sustainable means of transport through policies and strategies to encourage students and staff in choosing sustainable transport modes. Numerous universities around the world and in Italy have adopted initiatives to reduce the environmental impact related to the mobility of the entire academic community. In Italy, the Italian Network of Sustainable Universities has set up, within its organization, a working group that has drawn up numerous studies on the sustainable mobility of Italian universities. The University of Foggia also conducted a study on mobility to detect and evaluate the mobility routines of community members (students, academic and administrative staff). In this paper, the first results in terms of descriptive analysis are shown. We submitted a survey consisting of 17 questions, and we obtained 3495 answers. After cleaning the data set, we were able to extract various contingency tables, through which we can statistically describe the main means of transport used by members of the University of Foggia community and, thanks to detailed data about the different means of transport, we can estimate their emissions. According to the results shown in the paper, further considerations could be made concerning the environmental implications of the choices of transportation modes. This could address policies about mobility at universities and provide useful information for applying actions to enhance these sustainable choices.

A GIS-Based Methodology for Evaluating the Increase in Multimodal Transport between Bicycle and Rail Transport Systems. A Case Study in Palermo

Background: In a world where every municipality is pursuing the goals of more sustainable mobility, bicycles play a fundamental role in getting rid of private cars and travelling by an eco-friendly mode of transport. Additionally, private and shared bikes can be used as a feeder transit system, solving the problem of the first- and last-mile trips. Thanks to GIS (Geographic Information System) software, it is possible to evaluate the effectiveness of such a sustainable means of transport in future users’ modal choice. Methods: Running an accessibility analysis of cycling and rail transport services, the potential mobility demand attracted by these services and the possible multimodality between bicycle and rail transport systems can be assessed. Moreover, thanks to a modal choice model calibrated for high school students, it could be verified if students will be really motivated to adopt this solution for their home-to-school trips. Results: The GIS-based analysis showed that almost half of the active population in the study area might potentially abandon the use of their private car in favour of a bike and its combination with public transport systems; furthermore, the percentage of the students of one high school of Palermo, the Einstein High School, sharply increases from 1.5% up to 10.1%, thanks also to the combination with the rail transport service. Conclusions: The GIS-based methodology shows that multimodal transport can be an effective way to pursue a more sustainable mobility in cities and efficiently connect suburbs with low-frequent public transport services to the main public transport nodes.

The Research on Influencing Factors of Autonomous Vehicle Usage Behavior: Root Analysis Based on UTAUT2 Model

As a new sustainable means of transportation, how to successfully make autonomous vehicles accepted and used by the public is a key challenge for research. Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) model, the research took the social media platform as the data source to conduct a grounded analysis, comprehensively considered the interaction of individual internal factors and external environmental factors, and combined the technology acceptance field, user behavior field, sociology, psychology, marketing and other disciplines to build an influencing factors of autonomous vehicle usage behavior model, which is suitable for Chinese market. The study found that performance expectation, effort expectation, social impact, facilitating conditions, price value, hedonic motivation, perceived risk and perceived trust influence individuals’ intention to use autonomous vehicles. Facilitating c zV Conditions, perceived risk and intention affect individual’s usage behavior. The level of individual knowledge plays a regulatory role in the use behavior. The results provide a decision basis for the government and enterprises to effectively promote the use of autonomous vehicles.

Efficiency and Sustainability of Regional Aviation on Insular Territories of the European Union: A Case Study of Public Service Obligations on Scheduled Air Routes among the Balearic Islands

Mediterranean islands of the European Union (EU) have traditionally suffered from a lack of regularity in supplying public transportation due to the high seasonality of the demand for scheduled transport services. The insular fact forces people and goods to be carried either by sea or air, and therefore needs to actively stimulate interest in operating specific routes by proper carriers. As regional economies on insular territories also have a tight dependence on tourism, it is vital to achieve an appropriate balance between the need for effective public transportation and sustainable means of transport. This paper aims to provide an approach to the Public Service Obligation (PSO) system imposed on air routes serving the regional transport needs of the Balearic Islands. This study has analyzed data relating to freight and passenger traffic in the period between 2004 and 2019 from scheduled air services linking Palma de Mallorca with Ibiza and Menorca, as well as those between Menorca and Ibiza, and to their respective short-sea links. Results obtained in the research suggest that PSO impositions, together with significant improvement in the resident subsidy schema (from 50% to 75%), have recently led to a sharp increase in the demand for passenger air services on these routes; thus, avoiding the tender for the award of a public contract. However, it has led to a dramatic fall of freight transport on air routes concerned, as such, public intervention on the air market has only sought to ensure the mobility of passengers.

Environmental balance of the high speed rail network in Spain: A Life Cycle Assessment approach

Spain has the world's second longest network of high speed rail lines built and in service. High-Speed Rail (HSR) is usually presented as a sustainable means of transport with huge potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption. The majority of studies carried out on this mode of transport have focused on analysing and estimating these savings in terms of network operation, but sometimes ignore the burdens associated with the construction of the infrastructure.Based on the application of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, this work integrates into the analysis the construction and maintenance phases of the HSR lines in operation in Spain in 2016 together with their operation during that year, and verifies whether construction is justified in terms of reducing environmental impacts and energy consumption.This article concludes that the construction of the Levante and Northern corridors is not justified in terms of energy savings and emission reductions due to the low demand and therefore the decision to build new HSR sections should be based on an analysis of demand so that only corridors with high transport demand are built. Furthermore, policymakers should consider other measures related to transport that would lead to considerable and rapid reductions in environmental impacts without the burden of building new infrastructures: e.g. reducing the demand for transport, increasing the occupation of private vehicles, promoting electric traction and the use of electricity from renewable sources.

Assessing the Performance of Modal Interchange for Ensuring Seamless and Sustainable Mobility in European Cities

In the European Union, more than 70% of the population lives in urban areas. Achieving more efficient and low-carbon mobility is crucial to ensuring urban systems are sustainable and tackling important challenges, such as reduction of CO2 emissions, air and noise pollution, and traffic congestion. Identifying effective strategies and design solutions that boost multimodal mobility and effective interchange among different sustainable means of transport can be a significant contribution in this area. This paper presents an easy-to-use methodology to assess the performance of policy measures and design solutions-oriented to foster modal interchange, with special regard to the configuration of the interchange hubs. The methodology is based on identifying key factors necessary to ensure an efficient multimodal interchange and the different types of interchanges that are frequently present in the urban realm. By grouping the key factors into nine different domains, and by weighing the key factors in relation to their importance, the methodology creates a decision support system to assess the performance of the current interchange, as well as of different planning and design scenarios. This methodology has been developed in the framework of the Interreg Europe MATCH-UP project and is conceived to support both designers and decision-makers whenever they have to reorganise existing transport hubs and policies, or design and plan new ones.