Energy and Transport: Strategies for Energy Conservation in Urban Passenger Transport

1979 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 767-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Schou

Before proceeding to explore potential strategies for energy conservation in urban passenger transport, this paper presents some evidence on energy efficiencies of various transport modes and on travel behaviour under energy constraints. Knowledge of the relative energy efficiencies of different modes of transport is evidently necessary for analysing and developing policies for fuel conservation. Although the automobile does appear to be significantly more energy-intensive than public transport modes, this does not automatically indicate that a policy to attract people to public transport would lead to the maximum possible fuel savings. Available evidence on travel behaviour under energy constraints indicates that the elasticity of travel demand is very small. Increasing prices, within the range expected, are not likely to result in satisfactory fuel savings, and it is therefore necessary to consider alternative strategies. The strategies to be considered here may be outlined as follows: (1) improving fuel efficiency of automobiles by modifying driving habits, reducing speeds, improving traffic flows, and keeping vehicles properly maintained; (2) increasing efficiency of automobile travel by promoting higher occupancies; (3) attracting car travellers to public transport; (4) shifting to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, changing vehicle and engine designs such as to improve the inherent fuel efficiency of the automobile; (5) technological change: new propulsion systems, alternative fuels, and rapid personal transport; (6) reducing travel needs by changing land-use patterns and improving communications. These strategies are discussed in turn and, given the available information about travel patterns and behaviour, an attempt is made to assess their likely impact. Clearly those strategies should be selected which offer the maximum potential fuel savings and which can be introduced with minimum sacrifice.

Transport ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dragana Grujičić ◽  
Ivan Ivanović ◽  
Jadranka Jović ◽  
Vladimir Đorić

This paper presents the research and analysis process showing that transport system customers have a specific perception of service quality, as an indicator of transport system. Determining satisfactory level of service quality implies knowledge of travel demand and travel behaviour. There are a lot of elements that define the transport system quality. The goal of this paper is to identify the public transport system’s service quality elements that should be primarily acted on, in order to increase the level of service quality from transport system users’ (public transport users’ and non-users’) point of view, with minimal investment. The paper describes a specifically defined research methodology for determining service quality elements that should be primarily acted on, from the transport system users’ point of view. Methodology involves the use of Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) which is upgraded with the state preferences analysis. Presented methodology, which is used to determine user perception of service quality, can be considered to be universal. This methodology can be applied in other cities, with additional research that must precede its use. The methodology was tested on transport system users in Belgrade.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierluigi Coppola ◽  
Francesco De Fabiis

Abstract Introduction The COVID-19 emergency and the cities lockdown have had a strong impact on transport and mobility. In particular, travel demand has registered an unprecedented overall contraction, dramatically dropping down with peaks of - 90%-95% passengers for public transport (PT). During the re-opening phase, demand is gradually resuming the levels before the crisis, although some structural changes are observed in travel behaviour, and containment measures to reduce the risk of contagion are still being applied, affecting transport supply. Objective This paper aims at assessing to what extent keeping a one-meter interpersonal distancing on-board trains is sustainable for public transport companies. Method The analysis is based on travel demand forecasting models applied to two case-studies in Italy: a suburban railway line and a High-speed Rail (HSR) line, differentiated by demand characteristics (e.g. urban vs. ex-urban) and train access system (free access vs. reservation required). Results In the suburban case, the results show the need of new urban policies, not only limited to the transport domain, in order to manage the demand peaks at the stations and on-board vehicles. In the ex-urban case, the outputs suggest the need for public subsidies in order for the railways undertakings to cope with revenue losses and, at the same time, to maintain service quality levels.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Wale Alade ◽  
Mobolaji Olaseni ◽  
Olufemi Adeniji

In the past decade-plus there has been a paucity of comparative studies of the performance of public transport options in Lagos. This study evaluates commuters’ access to public transport modes (yellow bus, BRT and ferry), trip characteristics, factors influencing choice of, and the performance of each mode in Lagos to establish improvement priorities. Research data was obtained from 124 commuters through close-ended questionnaire at selected terminals on a major corridor during the morning peak period using incidental sampling technique. The performance of public transport modes was measured using seven variables on a 5-point rating scale. Analysis of variance show significant variation in commuters’ trip cost to terminals. The BRT is the most affordable with respect to fare but has the worst boarding delay occurrence, the ferry is the most efficient with respect to trip time while 45% of yellow bus passengers spend more than one hour per trip. From the linear regression results, delay time at the terminals, travel time and travel cost to destinations accounted for about 55.8% of the total variance in the preferred mode of travel. From the relative performance analysis results, the BRT has the highest mean performance index of 3.72, followed by ferry (3.01) and the yellow bus (2.62). These findings facilitate our understanding of factors influencing the performance and choice of public transport modes in Lagos while providing insights into areas needing attention for improvement. Based on these findings, the study recommended the provision of more BRT buses to reduce the waiting time at terminals, and the review of ferry operations to reduce fare and enhance safety and introduce measures to upscale the services of the for better performance. Future studies should explore commuter waiting and comfort at bus stations and terminals and on-board time use. Keywords: Commuter; Modal Choice; Public Transport; Travel Behaviour; Mobility; Performance


Author(s):  
Andreas Schafer

Today, passenger transport worldwide is responsible for almost 15 percent of anthropogenic energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the most abundant greenhouse gas. If the strong forces that generate travel demand and concomitant greenhouse gas emissions continue, world passenger traffic volume may rise more than fourfold over the 1990 level by 2050. During the same period, carbon dioxide emissions due to passenger transport are expected to multiply by a factor of more than 3, ultimately accounting for 2.7 billion tons of carbon in 2050. Based on these projections, the present study evaluates a range of emission-reduction options. Among these, technological measures offer the greatest potential and are key to drastically reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Radical fuel efficiency improvements in the world’s automobile fleet—along with continuations of past trends in the energy intensity of other passenger transport modes—could curtail the projected 2050 baseline emissions level by about 40 percent. Simultaneous substitution of oil products by natural gas could reduce CO2 emissions by another 25 percent and ultimately lead to emission stabilization at 1.2 billion tons of carbon in 2050; any further significant reduction in CO2 emissions would require the largescale introduction of zero-carbon fuels. Although the CO2-reduction potential of transportation systems management measures is comparatively limited, such measures are needed to abate other transport sector externalities such as accidents, noise, and traffic congestion.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 3719
Author(s):  
Jeffrey R. Kenworthy

Energy conservation in the passenger transport sector of cities is an important policy matter. There is a long history of transport energy conservation, dating back to the first global oil crisis in 1973–1974, the importance and significance of which is explained briefly in this paper. Detailed empirical data on private and public passenger transport energy use are provided for Sweden’s ten largest cities in 2015 (Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö, Linköping, Helsingborg, Uppsala, Jönköping, Örebro, Västerås and Umeå), as well as Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, which is a benchmark small city, well-known globally for its sustainability credentials, including mobility. These data on per capita energy use in private and public transport, as well as consumption rates per vehicle kilometer and passenger kilometer for every mode in each Swedish city and Freiburg, are compared with each other and with comprehensive earlier data on a large sample of US, Australian, Canadian, European and Asian cities. Swedish cities are found to have similar levels of per capita car use and energy use in private transport as those found in other European cities, but in the context of significantly lower densities. Possible reasons for the observed Swedish patterns are explored through detailed data on their land use, public and private transport infrastructure, and service and mobility characteristics. Relative to their comparatively low densities, Swedish cities are found to have healthy levels of public transport provision, relatively good public transport usage and very healthy levels of walking and cycling, all of which help to contribute to their moderate car use and energy use.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Chmelík

Abstract The goal of this paper is to present basic alternative assessments of the division of transport work (or also “modal split”) of main transport modes. For this, an example of selected long-distance connections between centres in Czechia, including an identification of major underlying factors, shall be exploited. The paper examines the competitiveness of rail transport in its relation to bus and individual automobile transport, and relations with a potential of rail transport are primarily selected. A logit model is applied within the selected set of relations. It is entered in particular by indicators of time (time of a ride, frequency of public transport lines) and finances (actual transport costs) through a financial expression of generalised costs. The purpose of the paper is to verify the selected procedure on the relations transport modes of which are similar, and to highlight the alternatives of a comprehensive assessment of the modal split of main transport modes in Czechia. In the conclusion, the gained results are used to outline further alternative prospects of the topic under observation.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prantosh Deb

Palanquin, horse, hand-pull rickshaw, paddle rickshaw, tram, bus, auto-rickshaw, and finally today's pollution controlled Bharat Stage (BS) -III-IV bus ----- more or less this is the evolution of passenger transport of Kolkata.  Transport demand in most of the Indian cities has increased substantially during last few decades due to increase in population (natural increase and migration from rural areas and smaller towns). Availability of motorized transport, increase in household income, and increase in commercial and industrial activities has further added to it. Unfortunately, public transport systems in Indian cities have not been able to keep pace  with the rapid and substantial increase in travel demand.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Xianchun Tan ◽  
Tangqi Tu ◽  
Baihe Gu ◽  
Yuan Zeng ◽  
Tianhang Huang ◽  
...  

Assessing transport CO2 emissions is important in the development of low-carbon strategies, but studies based on mixed land use are rare. This study assessed CO2 emissions from passenger transport in traffic analysis zones (TAZs) at the community level, based on a combination of the mixed-use development model and the vehicle emission calculation model. Based on mixed land use and transport accessibility, the mixed-use development model was adopted to estimate travel demand, including travel modes and distances. As a leading low-carbon city project of international cooperation in China, Shenzhen International Low-Carbon City Core Area was chosen as a case study. The results clearly illustrate travel demand and CO2 emissions of different travel modes between communities and show that car trips account for the vast majority of emissions in all types of travel modes in each community. Spatial emission differences are prominently associated with inadequately mixed land use layouts and unbalanced transport accessibility. The findings demonstrate the significance of the mixed land use and associated job-housing balance in reducing passenger CO2 emissions from passenger transport, especially in per capita emissions. Policy implications are given based on the results to facilitate sophisticated transport emission control at a finer spatial scale. This new framework can be used for assessing the impacts of urban planning on transport emissions to promote sustainable urbanization in developing countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktoriya Kolarova ◽  
Christine Eisenmann ◽  
Claudia Nobis ◽  
Christian Winkler ◽  
Barbara Lenz

Abstract Introduction The global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is having a great impact on all areas of the everyday life, including travel behaviour. Various measures that focus on restricting social contacts have been implemented in order to reduce the spread of the virus. Understanding how daily activities and travel behaviour change during such global crisis and the reasons behind is crucial for developing suitable strategies for similar future events and analysing potential mid- and long-term impacts. Methods In order to provide empirical insights into changes in travel behaviour during the first Coronavirus-related lockdown in 2020 for Germany, an online survey with a relative representative sample for the German population was conducted a week after the start of the nationwide contact ban. The data was analysed performing descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. Results and Discussion The results suggest in general an increase in car use and decrease in public transport use as well as more negative perception of public transport as a transport alternative during the pandemic. Regarding activity-related travel patterns, the findings show firstly, that the majority of people go less frequent shopping; simultaneously, an increase in online shopping can be seen and characteristics of this group were analysed. Secondly, half of the adult population still left their home for leisure or to run errands; young adults were more active than all other age groups. Thirdly, the majority of the working population still went to work; one out of four people worked in home-office. Lastly, potential implications for travel behaviour and activity patterns as well as policy measures are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1962
Author(s):  
Timo Liljamo ◽  
Heikki Liimatainen ◽  
Markus Pöllänen ◽  
Riku Viri

Car ownership is one of the key factors affecting travel behaviour and thus also essential in terms of sustainable mobility. This study examines car ownership and how people’s willingness to own a car may change in the future, when considering the effects of public transport, Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and automated vehicles (AVs). Results of two citizen surveys conducted with representative samples (NAV-survey = 2036; NMaaS-survey = 1176) of Finns aged 18–64 are presented. The results show that 39% of respondents would not want or need to own a car if public transport connections were good enough, 58% if the described mobility service was available and 65% if all vehicles in traffic were automated. Hence, car ownership can decrease as a result of the implementation of AVs and MaaS, and higher public transport quality of service. Current mobility behaviour has a strong correlation to car ownership, as respondents who use public transport frequently feel less of a will or need to own a car than others. Generally, women and younger people feel less of a will or need to own a car, but factors such as educational level and residential location seem to have a relatively low effect.


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