Sustainable Transport Alternatives Research Articles

Tackling Carbon Footprints: Sustainability Challenges of Hosting the Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania

The purpose of this study is to calculate the carbon footprint of the 2023 EuroLeague Men’s Final Four competition and identify the sources of the carbon footprint in sports. This study also aims to predict possible solutions to reduce this footprint. Mixed research methods were used in this study. Firstly, carbon footprint calculations related to the teams and fan travel were carried out. In the second step, interviews were conducted with the managers of the teams that won the basketball Final Four. The interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview. The total carbon footprint of the four teams participating in the competitions was calculated as 4560.25 kg, and the average of the total carbon footprint of the teams per person was calculated as 189.74 kg. The total carbon footprint of the fans of the four teams was calculated as 4065.686 kg, and the average of the total carbon footprint per capita of the fans was calculated as 3.003 kg. According to the interview findings, the carbon footprint sources in sports were identified as traveling, energy consumption, and waste generation. Turning to renewable energy sources, waste management and sustainable transport alternatives were identified as effective solutions for reducing the carbon footprint. Analysis of the research results showed that the interest and participation in the Final Four and other international organizations are increasing. Due to increasing carbon footprint, these events and competitions should be planned and conducted in accordance with the goals of environmental sustainability. For this purpose, managers and policy makers should turn to clean energy sources, including waste management and recycling strategies, the preparation of sustainable transportation projects, and integrating all these processes into organization activities.

From Frustration to Innovation: Exploring the Lived Experiences of E-Bike Users on Limited Charging Infrastructure

This abstract summarizes a phenomenological study exploring the lived experiences of electric bike (e-bike) users dealing with limited charging infrastructure. Through purposive sampling, 8 participants were interviewed, revealing three prominent themes. The first theme, "Technical Challenges and Solutions," delves into battery-related issues and coping strategies. Participants shared their stress caused by battery limitations and sensitivity to water, alongside coping strategies and the effectiveness of maintenance routines. The second theme, "Infrastructure and Accessibility," highlights concerns regarding the absence of charging stations and the benefits they offer. Participants expressed worries about inadequate infrastructure while recognizing the important role of charging stations in facilitating e-bike usage. Lastly, "Cost-Effectiveness and Sustainability" highlights participants' perspectives on the economic benefits of e-bikes as sustainable transportation alternatives. This research illuminates the diverse experiences of e-bike users, shedding light on their challenges, adaptations, and aspirations amidst evolving charging infrastructure settings.

Implications of the Progression to Sustainable Public Transportation: An Insight into Modern Jeepney Shift from the Philippines

Modern jeepneys represent a notable step forward in the Philippines’ modernization efforts. However, there is a need for further study since this has caused a lot of criticism in the country, and no studies have established its service quality and the behavioral intentions among passengers. This study assessed the factors influencing passengers’ intention to use modern jeepneys, employing a higher-order reflective construct using partial least square structural equation modeling. An online questionnaire gathered data from 502 commuters using modern jeepneys, employing convenience sampling for a diverse sample. Significant relationships (p-value < 0.05) were found between service quality (β: 0.559), attitude (β: 0.169), perceived behavioral control (β: 0.183), and behavioral intentions (β: 0.160), with assurance emerging as the most influential factor for higher-ordered constructs (β: 0.869). Meanwhile, satisfaction’s significant influence on behavioral intention was highest for lower-ordered constructs (β: 0.673). The study underscored the importance of building trust with passengers, prioritizing safety and security, and integrating modern jeepneys with traditional designs to enhance commuter experiences and promote modernized and sustainable transportation alternatives. It highlights the critical role of providing high-quality service in fostering positive intentions toward using modern jeepneys and its utilization. Despite the backlash of the majority on the redevelopment of traditional jeepneys, results presented that passengers are more inclined to use public transportation based on travel experiences rather than societal approval. The study offers theoretical and practical implications for future works and government organizations, transportation management, and modern jeepney manufacturers, emphasizing the importance of improving service quality.

Heterogeneous choice of personalized Mobility-as-a-Service bundles and its impact on sustainable transportation

The Mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) framework has the potential to induce changes in individual travel behavior towards more sustainable transportation alternatives by integrating multimodal travel services. However, insights into the behavioral responses of specific groups of people to MaaS, thus promoting green travel, are currently lacking. This paper intends to investigate the intergroup heterogeneous preferences on the choice of MaaS bundles and evaluate their contributions to eco-friendly travel. A stated choice experiment is designed, incorporating personalized MaaS service bundles complemented by different green travel-oriented ticketing strategies. The experiment caters to different groups of users related to public transport, cars, and other modes of transport. The results indicate a substantial improvement in the goodness-of-fit of the behavioral model after user classification, revealing significant heterogeneity in preferences among users regarding MaaS bundle choices. Notably, the impact of sub-tickets on nudging toward green transportation is more pronounced than that of monthly and discount tickets.

Assessing potential sustainability benefits of micromobility: a new data driven approach

Promoting the shift from private cars to micromobility (e.g., bike, e-bike, scooter) can represent a valuable action to improve city sustainability and liveability. Micromobility can help to replace trips by individual private cars (e.g., daily short round trips) as well as to improve coverage and accessibility of transit services, and, subsequently, to reduce the traffic impacts (e.g., pollutant emissions). It can be seen as a potential solution to move people more efficiently in urban areas, as well as to push people towards a more active mobility behaviour, contributing to the well-being goals. In this context, the paper, rather than inferring the users’ propensity to change their travel mode, proposes a methodology to identify car trips that can be considered the most compatible with micromobility. Estimation of the potential demand (e.g., the upper level of car trips that could be replaced by micromobility) is carried out by exploiting the opportunity offered by floating car data (FCD) for characterising car trips. Its goodness is therefore evaluated through an application to a real case study (i.e., the city of Trani, Apulia Region, Southern Italy), divided into seventy traffic zones, and where a FCD dataset of about 5,200 trips was available. The FCD allowed the car trips to be characterised (e.g., origin and destination, path features) instead of using the traditional surveys. The results indicate that a significant share of daily car trips can be substituted (i.e., the most compatible) by micromobility (31% of car round trips in the case study), with considerable potential environmental gains (traffic emission reduction; less than 21% of total emissions from private cars). Results can be of interest to local authorities in integrating micromobility in urban mobility planning and promoting new sustainable transport alternatives, as well as to transport companies for designing new appeal services. The developed methodology is parametric and uses easy-to-obtain data available worldwide; thus, it can be easily transferred to other city contexts.

Recovering Sustainable Mobility after COVID-19: The Case of Almeria (Spain)

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a significant change in mobility habits within cities, leading to a significant decrease in the use of collective urban transport in many countries that has been only partially and unevenly reversed. In this context, many cities are analyzing what factors are hindering this recovery process to design actions to promote sustainable mobility. Thus, this study, carried out in the city of Almeria (Spain), tried to analyze whether the main operating variables of the municipal bus network (frequency, average vehicle occupancy, the length of the lines, urban or suburban character, circularity, nodality, and intermodality) have an impact on the annual number of users recovered in 2022 compared to 2019. Although a strong statistical correlation between variables was not observed, the overall results show that the lines that have recovered the most users on average are suburban lines, as well as the nodal lines that serve key centroids such as the university, highlighting that the dependence of users on public transport might be the most important determinant in the recovery process, more than other variables representative of the service’s intrinsic quality such as frequency or average vehicle occupancy. This result shows the importance of facilitating public transport to those who lack alternatives, as well as the convenience of restrictions on less sustainable transportation alternatives for the prompt recovery of the space lost by urban public transportation.

A Review of sustainable transportation solutions: Innovations, challenges, and future directions

The paper explores the need for sustainable transportation alternatives that minimize environmental repercussions, focusing on advancements in public transit systems, electric vehicles (EVs), alternative fuels, and innovative mobility concepts. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the strengths and limitations inherent in sustainable transportation solutions, highlighting the efficiency gains of well-designed public transit systems and the monumental leap represented by electric vehicles powered by rechargeable batteries. However, the journey towards sustainable transportation is not without challenges, such as infrastructure limitations, cost considerations, and the imperative for behavioral shifts. The paper dissects these challenges, shedding light on the intricacies that demand attention from researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders alike. Infrastructure development is a critical linchpin, demanding strategic investment and collaboration to overcome hurdles of building and maintaining extensive public transportation networks, EV charging infrastructure, and alternative fuel production facilities. Cost considerations are a formidable barrier, particularly with the initial costs of EVs and alternative fuel vehicles surpassing those of traditional counterparts. The paper advocates for government incentives and research funding to bridge the financial gap, making sustainable transportation options accessible to a broader demographic. Technological advancements, ranging from battery technology to autonomous vehicle capabilities, serve as the engine driving the evolution of sustainable transportation. The paper underscores the need for continuous research and development initiatives to refine these technologies, enhancing efficiency, affordability, and range. Behavioral shifts pose a unique challenge, necessitating effective public awareness campaigns and policy interventions. The paper explores the opportunities presented by education, advocacy, and policy innovation in instigating this cultural shift. The paper also emphasizes the importance of social equity and accessibility in the pursuit of sustainable transportation. It advocates for inclusive policies that ensure the benefits of sustainable transportation are accessible to all demographics. Community engagement and impact assessments are proposed as indispensable tools to identify and address gaps in accessibility.

Exploring road safety in the era of micro-mobility: evidence from Rome

Urbanisation is taking place all over the world, and the number of vehicles on the road is increasing year by year. The worldwide trend highlights the importance of shifting from a private car to public transport and active mobility (e.g., walking, wheeling). Thus, micro-mobility is attracting many users who substitute short round trips and journeys for access/egress to transit services (e.g., home-work-home; home-school-home; tourist movements around historical monuments). Although micro-mobility has many advantages, there are also some disadvantages that need to be pointed out, as well as the road accidents involving such users. For this reason, the paper proposes a study of road accidents involved micro-mobility devices. It presents empirical evidence from Rome (Italy). The main factors are identified, and the patterns and users’ behaviours that could guide the identification of the appropriate countermeasures to adopt are explored. The results of this study may be of interest for local authorities in integrating micro-mobility into urban mobility planning and in promoting new sustainable transport alternatives.

Estimating time-saving benefits and mode shifts from improvements of sustainable transport modes in Cambridge, UK

This paper compares the impacts of sustainable transport alternatives to cars for small cities, in terms of mode shifts and time-saving benefits. This paper develops a new land use-transport interaction model with a detail multi-modal network, which can be quickly set up and used for small cities and their low-density exurbs. Whilst many existing models for small cities tend to focus on car traffic, treating non-car modes as a side-show, this model tests all modes on an equal footing. We use this model in a case study area that includes the city of Cambridge and its environs, a fast-growing low-density area. Three groups of sustainable transport alternatives under public discussion are tested, including Cambridge Autonomous Metro, demand responsive buses, and improving cycling and walking infrastructure. We find that in the case study area improving walking and cycling infrastructure is by far the most effective for modal shift from the car and accruing the highest time-saving benefits, as it reduces car commuting mode share from 56% to 49% for the suburbs of Cambridge. Demand responsive buses appear to be the second most effective option in reducing car trips. Metros, contrary to existing expectations, would achieve the least.

The influence of socio-demographic and neighborhood characteristics on residents’ safety perception of active mobility in Accra, Ghana

ABSTRACT The rise in automobiles within rapidly developing nations in Sub-Saharan Africa necessitates the exploration of sustainable transportation alternatives, especially in urban regions. Walking and cycling are essential active modes of transport that can improve city residents’ well-being and economic vitality. However, their adoption as mobility choices depends on infrastructure limitations and residents’ perception of their safety. This study investigates the impact of socio-demographic and neighborhood characteristics on the safety perception of active mobility within the Accra metropolis of Ghana. The study utilized survey data on residents’ mobility habits and willingness to use active transport modes for daily commutes. Most of the respondents are permanent residents of Accra, and 51% are between 18–35 years old. The developed random parameter ordered logit model reveals that the perception of safety varies across the population and is influenced by respondents’ demographic characteristics and neighborhood configuration. Notably, factors related to walking duration to bus stops, income level, and household size, unplanned neighborhoods, among others, decrease residents’ safety perception of active mobility. The study offers valuable insights that can aid in planning future urban active mobility systems in Accra to establish safer and more sustainable transportation choices for the city’s residents.

Empowering sustainable mobility in Nigeria: A study of conversion of conventional bicycle to electric bicycle

Amid global efforts towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Nigeria's recent decision to eliminate fuel subsidies has amplified the search for sustainable transportation alternatives. In this study, a traditional pedal bicycle was converted into an electric bike (e-bike) in order to explore it as a viable solution to promoting eco-friendly commuting and reducing carbon emissions on Nigerian roads. The conversion cost was 174,500 in Nigerian currency, with the e-bike demonstrating a range of 8.33km per charge, under a load of 136kg on a 36V, 4.8AH battery. At a speed of 15km/h, an estimated 1.44 volts per kilometer were consumed. Notably, the study revealed a 99.49% correlation between voltage depletion and distance covered per kilometer, indicating a highly predictable relationship between energy consumption and travel distance. These insights highlight the e-bike's potential advantages, particularly in terms of cost-effectiveness, presenting a compelling case for the adoption of electric bicycles as a means to decarbonize transportation in Nigeria.

Exploring Modal Choices for Sustainable Urban Mobility: Insights from the Porto Metropolitan Area in Portugal

Efficient and sustainable urban mobility is critical for contemporary cities, and understanding the factors influencing modal choices is essential for addressing transportation challenges in metropolitan areas. This study focuses on the Porto Metropolitan Area (AMP) in Portugal and aims to gain insights into these factors. Using data from the last mobility survey (IMob) conducted in 2017, a multinomial logit (MNL) model is used to analyze individual modal choices amongst private motorized vehicles (PMVs), public transport (PT), and active modes (AMs). The findings unveiled that demographic, socioeconomic, and travel-related characteristics substantially influence individual modal choices within the studied area. Moreover, probability scenarios highlight the importance of financial considerations, environmental consciousness, and accessibility to public transport in promoting sustainable transportation options. These insights have significant implications for policymakers and stakeholders involved in urban planning and transportation management. This study contributes to the literature by providing valuable insights into individuals’ transportation preferences and behaviors, facilitating decision-making based on evidence for infrastructure improvements and targeted interventions. By promoting sustainable transportation alternatives and reducing reliance on PMVs, this study aims to enhance the livability and sustainability of the AMP, aligning with long-term sustainability goals.

Adoption of Electric Motorcycles in Pakistan: A Technology Acceptance Model Perspective

Electric motorcycles (EMs) are gaining popularity in densely populated Asian countries, offering environmentally friendly solutions to combat traffic-related pollution. Governments and authorities are eager to promote EMs to reduce reliance on traditional fuel-based motorcycles. While prior research has explored the potential impacts of EMs, limited attention has been given to the adoption intentions of the Pakistani public. This study investigates the factors influencing the behavioral intentions of adopting EMs in Pakistan, employing an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) framework. The extended model incorporates perceived values and environmental concerns, along with perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, to assess their impact on EM adoption intentions. Based on data collected from 228 respondents in Karachi, Pakistan, structural equation models were estimated to identify significant factors affecting EM adoption. Findings highlight the substantial influence of perceived value and environmental concern on behavioral intentions, with perceived ease of use playing a mediated role through perceived usefulness. Results suggest that effective marketing and user-friendly EM designs, coupled with well-crafted policies and education, can substantially boost EM adoption by the public, facilitating a shift toward sustainable transportation alternatives.

An exploration of multiuser perceptions of a Norwegian Complete Streets modification using interim design strategies

The need for cities worldwide to embrace sustainable transportation alternatives has given rise to innovative planning and design practices such as the use of Complete Streets. This research article presents an approach that utilizes interim design strategies to investigate users’ perceptions of Complete Streets modifications and their impact on travel behavior. The study focused on a major street in Trondheim, Norway, where various low-cost interim street changes were implemented to enhance conditions for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users. These changes involved measures such as a ban on through-driving, a road diet (lane reduction initiative), bicycle lanes with armadillo separators, the deactivation of traffic lights, and parklet installation. Multiuser perceptions of the modifications were explored with the help of 832 online ex-post survey responses from city center residents and street users. Additionally, manual before-and-after counts of cyclists were conducted on the target street and three parallel streets. The findings revealed that employing interim design strategies enables transport planners to gain practical insights into the effectiveness of different Complete Streets measures. This, in turn, facilitates the optimization of roads for diverse travel modes and user needs.

Sustainable selection of waste collection trucks considering feasible future scenarios by applying the stratified best and worst method

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is vital in achieving sustainable development goals. It is a complex activity embracing collection, transport, recycling, and disposal; and whose management depends on proper strategic decision-making. The use of decision support methods such as multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is widespread in MSW management. However, their application mainly focuses on selecting plant locations and the best technologies for waste treatment. Despite the critical role played by transport in promoting sustainability, MCDM has seldom been applied for the selection of sustainable transport alternatives in the field of MSW management. There are a few MCDM studies about choosing waste collection vehicles, but none that include the most recent green vehicles among the options or consider feasible future scenarios. In this article, different engine technologies for collection trucks (diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), hybrid CNG-electric, electric, and hydrogen) are evaluated under sustainability criteria in a Spanish city by applying the stratified best and worst method (SBWM). This method enables considering the uncertainty associated with future events to establish various feasible scenarios. The results show that the best-valued options are electric and diesel trucks, in that order, followed by CNG and hybrid CNG-electric, and with hydrogen-powered trucks coming last. The SBWM has proven helpful in defining a comprehensive framework for selecting the most suitable engine technology to support long-term MSW collection. Considering sustainability among the criteria and feasible future scenarios in waste management collection decision-making provides more comprehensive and conclusive results that help managers and policymakers make better informed and more reliable decisions.

An Integrated Intuitionistic Fuzzy Closeness Coefficient-Based OCRA Method for Sustainable Urban Transportation Options Selection

Transportation systems play a key role in urban development by providing access for people to markets and education, employment, health care, recreation, and other key services. However, uncontrolled urban population and fast growth of vehicle mobility inevitably lead to unsustainable urban transportation systems in terms of economic, technical, social, and geographical aspects of sustainability. Thus, there is a need to select suitable sustainable urban transportation (SUT) alternatives, which can contributed to the technological advancement of a city and changes in societal necessities, mitigating the climate change impact from transport and transforming living habits, in the context of high urban population growth. Therefore, this paper aims to introduce an integrated multi-attribute decision analysis (MADA) framework for assessing and ranking the sustainable urban transportation (SUT) options under an intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs) context. In this regard, firstly IF-distance measures and their properties are developed to obtain the criteria weight. Second, an IF-relative closeness coefficient-based model is presented to find the criteria weights. Third, the operational competitiveness rating (OCRA) model is introduced with the IF-score function-RS-based decision experts’ weighing model and the relative closeness coefficient-based criteria weight determination model under the IFSs environment. To exemplify the utility and effectiveness of the developed IF-relative closeness coefficient-based OCRA methodology, a case study ranking the different SUT bus options is presented from an intuitionistic fuzzy perspective. A comparison with different models is made to prove the superiority and solidity of the obtained outcome. Moreover, the comparative analysis outperforms the other extant MADA models, as it can provide more sound outcomes than others, and thus it is more suitable and efficient to elucidate uncertain information in handling practical MADA problems. In this study, we analyze and determine the most suitable and sustainable SUT by considering the economic, technical, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainability and also make a significant contribution to the current scientific knowledge by providing a novel decision support system from an uncertainty perspective.

The workplace parking levy: a review of its social benefits

Reconciling economic development with the provision of safe, affordable, accessible and environmentally sustainable urban transport networks is key to securing the future vitality of cities and the health and wellbeing of urban residents. Although increased automation and electrification may offer opportunities for decarbonising urban transport in the medium to longer term, more immediate and lower-cost policy interventions are also required to reduce reliance on private vehicles and fund sustainable public transport alternatives. One possibility exists as a result of enabling legislation to implement a workplace parking levy (WPL), which imposes a charge on employers providing liable car parking places at the workplace. The legislation stipulates that the net WPL-derived revenue is hypothecated to fund local transport improvements. As of late 2020, only one English city (Nottingham), has introduced a WPL although a growing number of English local authorities are considering introducing one. The aim of this paper is to examine the potential social benefits of a WPL and offer recommendations for future policy and practice.

Sustainable Transportation Managing in University Campuses: The Case of Middle East Technical University

As the level of income of countries rises, sustainability-related issues are improved in general; however, problems regarding the increase in the amount of waste and carbon emissions worsen. The increasing level of wealth in both developing and developed countries, as well as cultural transformations that encourage the use of personal vehicles, threaten sustainability on a global scale. Generally, higher education institutions are places of great mobility thanks to their students, personnel, and visitors. For this reason, creating eco-friendly ways of transportation in these places is one of the most important aspects of having sustainable campuses. The reason why it is crucial is that creating a livable environment by providing sustainable transportation alternatives on campuses leads students to potentially continue with these practices in their lives afterward. Although there are various widely accepted practices of managing sustainable transportation implemented in higher education institutions, it is of great importance for these institutions to conduct a comprehensive situation analysis first so that their sustainable transportation policies can be shaped correctly. In this way, it can be possible for the universities to evaluate their current situations thoroughly and thus implement their own practices in accordance with their conditions. This study endeavors to examine the issue of eco-friendly transportation for sustainable campuses, evaluate the practices of Middle East Technical University in this respect, and raise suggestions for higher education institutions.Keyword: Sustainability, Transportation Management, University Campus

Identifying and Selecting Key Sustainable Parameters for the Monitoring of e-Powered Micro Personal Mobility Vehicles. Evidence from Italy

The recent invasion of electric-powered personal mobility vehicles (e-PMVs) in many cities worldwide has disputed the transport sector and captured the attention of academics, practitioners, and public administrators. Indeed, these vehicles are believed to be sustainable transport alternatives. Therefore, understanding how to evaluate and monitor the related performance is crucial and may be addressed by suitable key sustainable parameters (KSPs) to inform on the excellences and criticalities of e-PMVs. Previous research has focused largely on “how to measure and manage” KSPs rather than “what to measure”. Conversely, as far as the authors know, no study investigated objective methods for identifying and selecting top KSPs. This paper covers this gap by proposing a cohesive approach, which identifies a long list of KSPs, defines their properties, involves experts to elicit judgments for each KSP, evaluates the long list, and returns the most promising set. This approach is demonstrated with an application based on an Italian survey. A circumscribed and relevant set of six overlapping KSPs is derived by merging two different approaches. These results may support the opportunity to assess the performance of e-PMVs among cities according to a common set of KSPs.

Sustainable Public Transportation Evaluation using a Novel Hybrid Method Based on Fuzzy BWM and MABAC

Background: The transportation sector has wide-ranging effects on the human societies. Public transportation has a key and undeniable role in the lives of people in society and affects important aspects such as economic, social, cultural and environmental. Therefore, assessing the sustainability of public transportation in urban areas can be considered as a challenge for transportation policy makers. Methods: In this study, a novel hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method is proposed to evaluate sustainable public transportation in Tehran. Evaluation criteria have been identified using the literature and experts’ opinion. The proposed method integrates the fuzzy best-worst method (FBWM) and the multi-attributive border approximation area comparison (MABAC) method. a group of three experts determined the weight and importance of each criterion using FBWM. The MABAC method was then used to rank sustainable public transport alternatives. Results: The results indicate the reliability of the proposed method. Also, we can see that the results are congruent with the actual conditions of public transportation. The studied alternatives have been evaluated, and according to the decision criteria, metro and e-hailing have been the most sustainable alternatives. It is noteworthy that the economic and financial sustainability, service availability and environment sustainability have been the most important criteria. Conclusion: The proposed framework in this study can be used by public transportation planners and policy makers to identify sustainable options in order to consider facilities and implement incentive policies in this field. Also, the results of the proposed method used in this study can be used as a suitable guidance to assess the sustainability of public transportation.