Urban Mobility Systems Research Articles

A Quantitative Model of Innovation Readiness in Urban Mobility: A Comparative Study of Smart Cities in the EU, Eastern Asia, and USA Regions

The smart cities paradigm has gained significant attention as a tool to address the multifaceted challenges posed by contemporary urban mobility systems. While cities are eager to integrate cutting-edge technologies to evolve into digital and intelligent hubs, they often deal with infrastructure and governance bottlenecks that prevent the rapid adoption of industry-driven innovations. This study introduces a three-step methodological approach to forecast a city’s innovation readiness in urban mobility, thus facilitating city-led innovation and identifying key areas within urban mobility systems that require attention. Initially, a comprehensive literature review was undertaken to ascertain the most impactful innovation indicators influencing a city’s ability to embrace new technologies. Subsequently, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied to identify these indicators, highlighting the primary markers of innovation for each city. The final step involved the application of both random and fixed-effects regression models to quantify the influence of distinct unobserved variables—such as economic, cultural, and political factors—on the innovation readiness of various cities. The methodology’s effectiveness was tested using data from cities across diverse regions. The findings underscore that merely 7 out of 21 innovation indicators are critical for assessing a city’s innovation readiness. Moreover, the random-effects model was identified as the most suitable for capturing the nuances of unobserved variables in the studied cities. The innovation readiness scores at the city level revealed a diverse range, with cities like Madrid, Gothenburg, and Mechelen demonstrating high readiness, while others like Kalisz and Datong showed lower scores. This research contributes to the strategic planning for smart cities, offering a robust framework for policymakers to enhance innovation readiness and foster sustainable urban development, with a newfound emphasis on city-specific analysis.

Integrating future trends and uncertainties in urban mobility design via data-driven personas and scenarios

Urban mobility contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and comes with negative social impacts for various groups, such as limited accessibility to opportunity or basic services. Transitions towards sustainable and people-centred urban mobility systems are paramount. Yet, this is accompanied by various challenges. Complex urban systems are accompanied by high uncertainties (e.g., technological progress, demographics, climate change) which are currently not well integrated. Possible solutions originate from design, policymaking, and innovation, with a widespread disconnection due to non-compatible methods. This paper presents a method to improve the ability to design future urban mobility systems by integrating different approaches for modelling what the future could be and who could be the users. The research question is how diverse future user needs can be integrated in design processes for urban mobility systems. The proposed scenario-based design and personas allows to create data-driven proto-personas—a set of archetypical users with assigned characteristics and behaviours—test their validity, derive distributions across geographical areas, and transform them for different 2030 scenarios. This serves as input to create full personas and synthetic populations as intermediary design objects for the collaboration of designers and simulation experts. The methodology is exemplarily applied in the context of Paris. It contributes to urban mobility solution design that is more aware of future uncertainty and diverse needs of users, therefore, better capable to respond to today’s challenges. The approach is replicable with open data and accessible source code: https://github.com/TjarkGall/proto-persona-clustering.

A phase-based perspective on urban demand responsive transport: A case study of Viavan pilot in Helsinki Capital Region

Despite decade-long efforts, real-time demand-responsive transport (DRT) services are still struggling to be a part of sustainable urban mobility systems. Among various approaches to understand the changing nature of DRT service, a longitudinal perspective has been found very effective. This study presents the case of an urban DRT pilot operated by Viavan in the Helsinki Capital Region, Finland. Research develops and implements a framework for longitudinal analysis, while drawing from the multi-level perspective (MLP) on sustainability transitions. DRT trip data is used to understand the service trajectory longitudinally over specific phases, delineated through key changes in service design. In addition, the framework uses three-level analysis of service parameters, to provide in-depth analysis in studying inter-phase and intra-phase changes. Case study approach also provides a comprehensive service area background and service implementation context to support the analysis. Results shows the complementary role of the urban DRT to fixed public transport services and points out certain challenges for efficient coordination. In addition, the analysis points towards a set of regime factors that should be considered for further understanding of the service trajectory. In practice, special emphasis should be paid on developing the mobility ecosystem and managerial practices. Future DRT case studies should develop additional frameworks, indicators and methods by drawing from sustainability transitions theory, to further understand service trajectories over time.

Block-Chain based Trustful Data-Driven Cyber-Physical Social System Framework for Urban Air Mobility

This paper provides an overview of existing research on urban mobility issues and highlights the importance of incorporating smart technologies, particularly in the context of introducing air-based transportation, to enhance the efficiency of urban mobility systems. The integration of air mobility will bring about increased complexities in managing urban transportation due to the growing volume of data, services, and infrastructure that governing bodies will have to handle. Urban air mobility infrastructure consists of interconnected and intricate systems that demonstrate the seamless integration of physical and software components. To address these complexities, the Cyber-physical social system (CPSS) is proposed as an effective approach to minimize complications within and between these subsystems. Establishing public-private partnerships and ensuring secure transactions are vital prerequisites for embracing current technological advancements and shaping the future of urban air mobility services. In this regard, blockchain technology emerges as a reliable protocol that guarantees the integrity of data exchanged among the decentralized network of stakeholders, eliminating the need for a trusted intermediary.

Microtransit adoption in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from a choice experiment with transit and car commuters

On-demand mobility platforms play an increasingly important role in urban mobility systems. Impacts are still debated, as these platforms supply personalized and optimized services while also potentially exacerbating sustainability challenges. To alleviate these concerns, microtransit projects have emerged, promising to combine the advantages of pooled on-demand rides with more sustainable fixed-route public transit services. Specifically, microtransit provides, dynamic rider-driver matching to serve demand with fewer vehicles and design optimal routes if riders accept to wait to board vehicles at curbside boarding locations. The shift to microtransit calls for new research on user behavior, motivations, and acceptability to understand demand and its role in existing mobility systems. The COVID-19 pandemic context adds an additional layer of complexity. This study investigates the potential demand for microtransit options against the background of the pandemic. We use a pivoted efficient choice experiment to study the decision-making of Israeli public transit and car commuters when offered to use novel microtransit options (sedan vs. passenger van). By estimating commuter group-specific Integrated Choice and Latent Variable models with error component terms for the microtransit alternatives, we investigate the tradeoffs related to traditional fare and travel time attributes, along with microtransit features: walking time to the pickup location, vehicle sharing, waiting time, minimum advanced reservation time, and shelter at designated boarding locations. We analyzed two latent constructs: the attitudes toward sharing and the experiences and risk perceptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results reveal three key takeaways. (1) New modal attributes significantly affect the utility of the microtransit alternatives, with a notable aversion to walking and waiting among drivers; (2) car and transit commuters have structural differences in attribute elasticities; (3) significant differences are noted for the magnitude of the latent variable effects. Sharing experience and COVID Comfort play a key role for drivers evaluating the choice of microtransit.

Graph-Based Approach for Personalized Travel Recommendations

Abstract In the evolving domain of urban mobility systems, the integration of technology with user-centric strategies is pivotal. This research stands on the foundational concept of Mobility-as-a-Service, a user-centric intelligent mobility management distribution system that seeks to prioritize human needs over mere technological infrastructure. The study delves deep into the wealth of data available through mobile sensing technologies, highlighting the unprecedented understanding it offers into human mobility patterns, thus facilitating personalized route recommendations. The literature categorizes the study area into three interlinked categories: point-of-interest (POI) recommendation, travel planning, and trajectory modelling. In a significant stride, this research introduces a comprehensive understanding of hu-man mobility data and proposes a novel framework designed to tender personalized recommendations to travel planner users. The innovative framework employs a graph-based approach rooted in the Sussex-Huawei Locomotion dataset, leveraging an adaptation of Bellman-Ford’s algorithm. This modification considers factors such as perceived fatigue, frequency of trips to specific locations, and proximity to POIs, promising a path routed in past user experiences and preferences.

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.

Techno–economic analysis of fuel cell powered urban air mobility system

This study verified the technological and economic feasibility of converting urban air mobility (UAM) to a fuel cell–battery hybrid propulsion system from an existing battery–only propulsion system. The battery–fuel cell hybrid propulsion UAM was conceptually designed through reverse engineering and redesigned of the existing battery–only propulsion UAM. Under various design conditions, the economic feasibility of the hybrid propulsion system was verified through life cycle cost (LCC) analysis. Hybrid propulsion UAMs designed with appropriate hybridization ratios had 10% lower life cycle costs than battery-only propulsion UAMs. In particular, this cost–saving effect was more noticeable when UAM's flight distance became longer. The life cycle cost increased proportionally as the number of UAM passengers increased, but was relatively unrelated to energy storage technology improvements. Considering the current electricity and hydrogen price changes, the economic feasibility of fuel cell–battery hybrid UAM is expected to continue to improve in the future compared to batteries alone.

A new street lighting control algorithm based on forecasted traffic data for electricity consumption reduction

Buildings, urban mobility and public lighting systems are promising areas for cities to reduce energy consumption. In this work, a smart city located in a central region of Italy was investigated and a new street lighting control algorithm was developed. The method is applied to manage the public lighting system of a real case study, where efficient technologies, such as LED lamps and control systems, are already installed. Preliminary on-site measurements of traffic and lighting parameters were carried out in specific streets chosen for the case studies. The analysis was supported with lighting simulations. Based on the results, a Python-based algorithm was developed to apply switching and dimming schedules to decrease the electricity consumption of the streets. A cost/benefit study was carried out and a preliminary analysis of the environmental impact of the proposed strategy is also included. The developed algorithm could be further improved based on other boundary conditions, such as daylighting and weather data.

Distributed Denial-of-Service Resilient Control for Urban Air Mobility Applications

Urban air mobility (UAM) systems are characterized by the heterogeneity of participating aerial vehicles (AVs). Participating AVs are expected to cooperate with each other while maintaining flexibility in individual missions and reacting to the possibility of cyberattacks and security threats. In this paper, we focus on the vulnerabilities of the UAM cyberphysical system against distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) cyberattacks. We develop a resilient control strategy for the AVs navigating through the UAM airspace to mitigate the effect of DDOS cyberattacks. A graph-theoretic vulnerability metric is proposed. Each AV can compute its vulnerability against DDOS cyberattacks in a fully distributed manner using this metric. Based on this computed metric, the AVs self-organize to minimize collision risk in the operating airspace after assessing self-vulnerability. This reconfiguration is also carried out in a fully distributed manner. The proposed resilient control is proven to reduce vulnerability in a probabilistic manner. This reduced vulnerability holds against DDOS cyberattacks with a known attack budget.

The role of intelligent technology in the development of urban air mobility systems: A technical perspective

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an emerging transportation system that aims at revolutionizing urban mobility through the deployment of small electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. The development of UAM is largely driven by advances in Intelligent Technology (IT). This review article provides an overview of the UAM system and discusses the application of IT in UAM. Major challenges facing UAM are also identified, and an outlook on the future of this promising transportation system is presented. Our main conclusions suggest that IT is a fundamental driver of UAM, enabling a range of applications such as air traffic management and autonomous drone control. However, the UAM system is facing a number of challenges, including eVTOL technology, system integration issues, and noise pollution. Despite these challenges, the future of UAM appears promising; as a disruptive transportation mode, UAM is expected to play an important role in addressing the growing demand of urban transportation in the coming decades.

Investigating the role of micromobility for first- and last-mile connections to public transport

The integration of private and shared micromobility with existing public transport services is often presented as a valuable step to improve urban mobility systems. In this study, the combination of micromobility and active modes with public transport was examined through a survey that included a stated preference experiment. Normal error component mixed logit models were estimated to determine how commuters in County Dublin, Ireland, travel on the first- and last-mile of public transport trips. The survey results shed light on the influence of user characteristics and mobility patterns on mode choice for multimodal public transport trips including private and shared micromobility, allowing to analyse trade-offs between the different micromobility modes and active modes. The mixed logit model analysis shows that young (<35 years old) and male respondents present a strong preference for micromobility, while older and female respondents prefer walking. Overall, walking is preferred by most respondents both for the first- and the last-mile, even if the other options provide significant travel time reductions. The importance of secure parking availability at stations is also reflected in the results and shows that a seamless transition between the modes and an adequate provision of infrastructure are crucial to facilitate micromobility adoption. Age, gender, previous experience with micromobility, and interest in micromobility are found to be significant factors that influence mode choice. These results confirm a growing interest for micromobility in younger generations, while also showing that regulations and adequate infrastructure are needed to promote equitable access to these modes, with a particular focus on attracting users from more carbon-intensive modes such as private car and ride-hailing trips.

New infrastructures for Urban Air Mobility systems: A systematic review on vertiport location and capacity

New technological developments pave the way for passengers and goods transport provided by electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles and introduce the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) opportunity. Adding a vertical dimension in transportation system supply could bring some improvements, for instance for faster intra/inter-city connections. However, there are several aspects that have to be further examined such as regulations, travel demand, public acceptance, and ground infrastructures called vertiports, these latter being the interchange nodes between ground and aerial transport modes. Vertiport position and capacity, with their related relevant factors, are among the most critical aspects of UAM, which could strongly limit its development. Identifying advantages and disadvantages of possible solutions for locating and designing suitably vertiports is relevant in order to set guidelines for these new infrastructures, similarly to what has been done for other transport infrastructures – like airports, railways, roads. In this perspective, this paper wants to provide a systematic review that deals only on vertiport characteristics, in order to compare the most important approaches and results presented in the literature. Particularly, the paper focuses on the main features that influence vertiport location and capacity and identifies research gaps in order to encourage future studies.

Comparing Urban Air Mobility Network Airspaces: Experiments and Insights

Urban air mobility (UAM) systems include a network of (un)structured airspaces. The geometry and operations on these networks affect system performance across several goals including safety, efficiency, and externalities. The primary goal of this work is to find and illustrate the safety, efficiency, and externality trade-offs between different styles of network architecture. To do so, this paper uses a microscopic traffic simulator for UAM aircraft to experiment with different network architectures. Key performance measures reflecting the varied system goals are considered. Comparisons of network performance at varying demand levels illustrate the different behavior of traffic and congestion for each network architecture. The results indicate that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for network designs, rather there are trade-offs between designs. Fewer network restrictions and organization allow for routing efficiencies at the cost of a higher conflict rate and greater congestion at high demand levels. Greater network restrictions and organization can reduce the conflict rate and effectively manage high levels of demand but may suffer from locally concentrated conflicts and trajectories in addition to routing inefficiency. The insights will interest airspace researchers, regulators, and UAM operators as they consider appropriate future designs of airspace to accommodate UAM operations.

Intelligent Embedded Systems Platform for Vehicular Cyber-Physical Systems

Intelligent vehicular cyber-physical systems (ICPSs) increase the reliability, efficiency and adaptability of urban mobility systems. Notably, ICPSs enable autonomous transportation in smart cities, exemplified by the emerging fields of self-driving cars and advanced air mobility. Nonetheless, the deployment of ICPSs raises legitimate concerns surrounding safety assurance, cybersecurity threats, communication reliability, and data management. Addressing these issues often necessitates specialised platforms to cater to the heterogeneity and complexity of ICPSs. To address this challenge, this paper presents a comprehensive CPS to explore, develop and test ICPSs and intelligent vehicular algorithms. A customisable embedded system is realised using a field programmable gate array, which is connected to a supervisory computer to enable networked operations and support advanced multi-agent algorithms. The platform remains compatible with multiple vehicular sensors, communication protocols and human–machine interfaces, essential for a vehicle to perceive its surroundings, communicate with collaborative systems, and interact with its occupants. The proposed CPS thereby offers a practical resource to advance ICPS development, comprehension, and experimentation in both educational and research settings. By bridging the gap between theory and practice, this tool empowers users to overcome the complexities of ICPSs and contribute to the emerging fields of autonomous transportation and intelligent vehicular systems.

A Petri Nets-Based Simulation Methodology for Modular Modeling and Performance Evaluation of Car-Sharing Networks

In the field of urban and green mobility, electric car-sharing networks have recently emerged as one of the promising alternatives, dealing with both environmental and transportation issues. Despite the increasing success of the shared mobility concept over the world, the design and management of such urban mobility systems implies strategic, tactical and operational challenges. To support designers and operators, all these issues constitute an emerging and challenging research topic, aiming to develop techniques and tools for modeling, analysis and optimization of such complex systems. In this contribution, based on the modeling and analysis power of stochastic timed Petri nets, a discrete event simulation approach is developed, taking into account their dynamic behavior complexities due to their self-service mode and characteristics including capacities of the stations, energy availability, rebalancing and maintenance activities. A real-life application is presented, to demonstrate the applicability and the potential of the proposed modeling and simulation analysis approach. <i>Note to Practitioners</i>&#x2014;To support designers, providers and managers of shared mobility programs, performance and optimization models and decision-making tools are needed. In this contribution, we deals with a powerful and modular stochastic timed Petri net methodology suitable for performance modeling and simulation analysis of such complex dynamical systems. The authors believe that this discrete event dynamic approach has significant promise for the future and to influence economic viability and operational efficiency of such emerging urban transportation systems.

Back to the Future: “De-Transition” to Low-Car Cities

Current urban mobility systems in Europe, characterized by high car mobility shares, have negative environmental and health impacts but struggle to mitigate these for fear of sacrificing accessibility. Ironically, before the car mobility transition (in the 1950s and 1960s in Western countries and the 1990s in Eastern Europe), most cities were accessible by walking, cycling, public transport, and by the few cars there were. Through a longitudinal case study of a medium-sized urban area in Clermont-Ferrand, France (1950–2022), this paper explores the potential to ‘de-transition’, i.e., to reverse the urban transition process towards ‘accessible, low-car cities’ by reshaping infrastructures to constrain car use whilst accommodating walking, cycling, and public transport. We answer the following questions: To what extent can cities reverse the urban car mobility transition? How could such a process be further encouraged? Our analysis adopts a social practices perspective and uses a mixed-methods approach by combining semi-structured interviews, a survey, and a document analysis. On the one hand, our findings highlight the difficulty of an urban modality shift to car alternatives: (1) the limited reach of public transformation networks (in Clermont-Ferrand, the tramline); (2) the fact that many feel unsafe or assume they need excellent health conditions to cycle, which is associated with leisure and sports; and (3) strong convictions concerning the usefulness of vehicle ownership, which is believed to maximise comfort. On the other hand, based on a historic analysis, we offer practical recommendations to de-transition to low-car urban areas: (1) the creation of an extensive regional tramway network; (2) the development of a full cycling network; and (3) the promotion of an extensive car-free city centre.

DESIGNING SOLUTIONS FOR UNCERTAIN FUTURES: A CHECKLIST FOR CHOOSING SUITABLE SCENARIOS

AbstractFuture scenarios are intermediary artefacts for mid- and long-term design of complex solutions, e.g., to improve urban mobility systems. They allow designers to explore possible alternatives and incorporate uncertainty in the process. While their making is widely studied and implemented in scenario planning, their assessment got little attention. To find out which characteristics of scenarios we can assess, we conducted interviews and an expert workshop. This results in a scenario assessment framework of 3 levels: Assessment of system impact, evaluation of impact on practitioners and quality assurance. We focus on the latter as it represents the key gap and established a checklist for it. We distinguish between the level of engagement, i.e., scenario makers and users who adapt existing sets (or archetypes). Finally, we provide a checklist to aid ensuring that when choosing existing scenario sets, key criteria are fulfilled. This shall enable designers to better integrate scenarios in their workflows. We provide examples of designing mobility solutions. Yet, the findings can be applied to all disciplines where scenarios can aid design processes but are so far limited due to the resources needed for creating meaningful scenarios.

Can urban mobility be responsible? A governance perspective

ABSTRACT Transport and mobility systems are historically deeply influenced by the context, including legislation, operation arrangements, decision-making process, users’ behaviours, and travel modals. With a great expectation to change what is known, mobility innovations aim to offer a better arrangement towards a more sustainable, efficient, safer, and economical, technological, and spatial accessible. A suitable definition of governance processes is required to achieve positive results. In this sense, based on the responsible innovation (RI) approach, this paper aims to propose a responsible urban mobility system. The applied methodology is based on an integrative review supported by content analysis. The main discussion of this paper is directed to propose that the urban mobility system should be implemented in a responsible way. As a result, a concept of a responsible urban mobility system is proposed based on governance definitions sustained by RI's premises. Responsibility in urban mobility systems comes from a governance system founded on new ways of planning, coordination, and management of complexities and uncertainties, taking cities as particular contexts.

Adoption of the Urban Air Mobility System: Analysis of technical, legal and social aspects from a European perspective

As the demand for mobility and traffic in European urban areas continues to grow, innovative transportation solutions, particularly Urban Air Mobility (UAM), are gaining increasing prominence. UAM takes advantage of the third dimension to reduce ground traffic by integrating low-noise electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs). Nonetheless, the successful implementation of UAM necessitates not only technological advancements but also the legal framework and social considerations to guarantee effective and safe operations. Holistic investigations of UAM are scarce, especially in the European context. Therefore, this study discusses the developments and challenges of UAM from technical, legal, and social perspectives and derives a set of UAM-tailored design drivers for the effective deployment of UAM in Europe. A comprehensive literature review is conducted on the state of the art of UAM technologies, regulations, and public attitudes. Various eVTOL configurations are compared, taking into account pertinent system factors such as energy efficiency and suitability for short- or long-duration missions. Besides, the cost-effectiveness of eVTOL configurations for a specific mission is evaluated through a cost-optimization analysis: the total cost is calculated to be around 2 € per payload-kilometer, which is approximately tenfold the current price for road transport. The regulatory activities of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency are discussed for the period 2017-2022, during which several systematic improvements to the regulations have been introduced. Typical factors for assessing the public acceptance of UAM are identified, and a survey is conducted across European medium-sized cities to gain insights into public opinion. The survey results indicate that 59\% of the respondents are moderately positive toward UAM deployment, representing a more cautious attitude compared to findings from studies conducted in metropolitan cities or countries. Furthermore, 56\% of respondents are willing to try out delivery services with aerial vehicles, while, 32\% would use air taxis. This is in contrast with studies conducted in metropolitan areas or at the country level. Based on the proposed holistic investigation of UAM, the set of design drivers can be identified to reduce uncertainty in UAM adoption and ensure a flawless deployment.