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on Transport Economics |
| By: | B. Ajay Krishna (Phd Research Scholar(Corresponding author), Madras School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Rapid growth of private vehicle ownership in emerging economies like India has serious implications on its existing transport infrastructure, future energy demands and emission reduction targets. While vehicle ownership in India is considerably low compared to advanced economies, an expected economic growth, along with rising population and inability of public transport to meet the travel demands would lead to increase in future private vehicle stock, subsequent fuel demand and resulting vehicular emissions. This study contributes to the literature by projecting various medium-term future scenarios of vehicle stock, fuel demand and vehicular emission projections based on multiple economic growth rate and electric vehicle (EV) adoption scenarios. A non-linear Gompertz function has been estimated to describe the association between economic growth and vehicle ownership using time series data ranging from 1960 to 2019. Using an incremental addition to the vehicle stock based on past vehicle registration, study forecasts 107-145 million new vehicles will be added to existing stock by 2030. Subsequently, private transport fuel demand is predicted to peak around 60 million metric tons per annum during this period. Correspondingly, CO2 emission from private vehicle use is estimated to peak at 174 million tons per annum. Further, appropriate transport policy measures and investment spheres in terms of road network requirement have been explored which would facilitate reducing private vehicles dependency and regulate vehicular emissions. |
| Keywords: | Vehicle Ownership; Carbon Emissions; Fuel Demand; Gompertz Function; Transport Policy |
| JEL: | Q47 Q54 R48 R49 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mad:wpaper:2022-220&r=tre |
| By: | Wang, Guihua; Miller, Marshall; Fulton, Lewis |
| Abstract: | Electric vehicle (EV) depot charging increases the feasibility for fleet operators to convert fleets from internal combustion engine vehicles to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). This study considers two example cases: a fleet of medium-duty delivery trucks and a fleet of heavy-duty short-haul trucks. In both cases, trucks are charged at a depot by direct current (DC) fast chargers (50 kW, 150 kW, or 350 kW), and we estimate charging infrastructure cost as a function of the EV fleet size. Results indicate that per-vehicle infrastructure cost will decrease substantially as the fleet size increases, though infrastructure cost is very sensitive to charger utilization rates. The higher the charger utilization, the lower the infrastructure cost will be, as the depot will need fewer chargers installed given a certain number of vehicles being charged. Therefore, one cost reduction strategy is to improve daily utilization rates to reduce the charger count demand and eventually reduce the infrastructure cost (the capital cost). Finally, results show that the annualized infrastructure cost is dwarfed by the annual cost of the electricity dispensed to the EV fleet. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Social and Behavioral Sciences, electric vehicle, fleet charging, infrastructure cost, direct current fast charger, delivery truck, heavy-duty truck |
| Date: | 2023–10–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt1p49662g&r=tre |
| By: | Bonilla, Xavier; Ivaldi, Marc |
| Abstract: | In the midst of an increasing debate concerning the environmental repercussions of transportation decisions in France, this study employs nationally representative data from the 2018-2019 Mobility Survey to investigate the determinants shaping French citizens' preferences for long-distance travel modes. Emphasis is placed on assessing potential CO2 emissions reductions resulting from government-proposed flight bans when a train alternative with a travel time of less than 2 hours and 30 minutes exists (notably, the Paris Orly - Nantes, Paris Orly - Bordeaux, and Paris Orly - Lyon routes). Descriptive analysis reveals a pre-ban inclination among travellers to favour non-flight modes, with just 4% of trips between these cities relying on air travel. Subsequently, econometric analysis challenges the conventional wisdom that income significantly influences air travel choices, instead highlighting its impact on car trip preferences up to a specific income threshold. Additionally, it underscores the expected inverse relationship between travel distance and train travel adoption, coupled with a corresponding increase in flight preference. |
| Date: | 2023–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:128645&r=tre |
| By: | Johannes Gessner; Wolfgang Habla; Ulrich J. Wagner |
| Abstract: | To reduce CO2 emissions, some companies have introduced mobility budgets that employees can spend on leisure and commuting trips, as an alternative to subsidized company cars. Given their novelty, little is known about how mobility budgets should be designed to encourage sustainable transportation choices. Since prices play a limited role in this subsidized setting, our study focuses on behavioral interventions. In a field experiment with 341 employees of a large German company, we test whether social comparisons, either in isolation or in combination with a climate-related moral appeal, can change the use of different means of transportation. We find strong evidence for a reduction in car-related mobility in response to the combined treatment, which is driven by changes in taxi and ride-sharing services. This is accompanied by substitution towards micromobility, i.e., transport modes such as shared e-scooters or bikes, but not towards public transport. We do not find robust evidence for effects of the social comparison alone. Furthermore, survey evidence suggests that effects may be driven by a climate-aware minority and that participants indeed felt a moral obligation to comply with the social norm. Our results demonstrate that small, norm-based nudges can change transportation behavior, albeit for a limited time. |
| Keywords: | mobility behavior, randomized experiment, nudging, descriptive norm, injunctive norm, social norms, moral appeal, habit formation |
| JEL: | C93 D04 D91 L91 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2023_451v2&r=tre |
| By: | Horvath, Arpad PhD; Greer, Fiona PhD; Apte, Joshua PhD; Rakas, Jasenka PhD |
| Abstract: | California must operate and maintain an effective and efficient transportation infrastructure while ensuring that the health of communities and the planet are not compromised. By assessing transportation projects using a life-cycle perspective, all relevant emission sources and activities from the construction, operation, maintenance, and end-of-life phases can be analyzed and mitigated. This report presents a framework to assess the life-cycle human health and climate change impacts from six types of transportation projects: (1) Roadways; (2) Marine ports; (3) Logistical distribution centers; (4) Railyards; (5) Bridges and overpasses; and (6) Airports. The framework was applied using an integrated model to assess fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, noise impacts, and monetized damages (Value of Statistical Life, Social Cost of Carbon) from two case studies: routine resurfacing and vehicle operations on road segments within the San Francisco Bay Area using 2019 data, and annual marine, cargo, rail, trucking, and infrastructure maintenance operations at the Port of Oakland in 2020. The results suggest that emission sources in a project’s supply chain and construction (material production and deliveries, construction activities, fuel refining) can significantly contribute to the full scope of impacts from transportation systems. Equitable mitigation policies (e.g., electrification, pollution control technologies) need to be tailored to address the sources that impact communities the most. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Environmental justice, life cycle analysis, decision support systems, greenhouse gases, particulates, emissions, highways, ports, railroad yards |
| Date: | 2023–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt3772t8h3&r=tre |
| By: | Rui Yao; Kenan Zhang |
| Abstract: | Mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) provides seamless door-to-door trips by integrating different transport modes. Although many MaaS platforms have emerged in recent years, most of them remain at a limited integration level. This study investigates the assignment and pricing problem for a MaaS platform as an intermediary in a multi-modal transportation network, which purchases capacity from service operators and sells multi-modal trips to travelers. The analysis framework of many-to-many stable matching is adopted to decompose the joint design problem and to derive the stability condition such that both operators and travelers are willing to participate in the MaaS system. To maximize the flexibility in route choice and remove boundaries between modes, we design an origin-destination pricing scheme for MaaS trips. On the supply side, we propose a wholesale purchase price for service capacity. Accordingly, the assignment problem is reformulated and solved as a bi-level program, where MaaS travelers make multi-modal trips to minimize their travel costs meanwhile interacting with non-MaaS travelers in the multi-modal transport system. We prove that, under the proposed pricing scheme, there always exists a stable outcome to the overall many-to-many matching problem. Further, given an optimal assignment and under some mild conditions, a unique optimal pricing scheme is ensured. Numerical experiments conducted on the extended Sioux Falls network also demonstrate that the proposed MaaS system could create a win-win-win situation -- the MaaS platform is profitable and both traveler welfare and transit operator revenues increase from a baseline scenario without MaaS. |
| Date: | 2023–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2310.08285&r=tre |
| By: | Kailai Wang |
| Abstract: | The debate on whether young Americans are becoming less reliant on automobiles is still ongoing. This research compares driver's license acquisition patterns between Millennials and their succeeding Generation Z during late adolescence. It also examines factors influencing teenagers' decisions to obtain driver's licenses. The findings suggest that the decline in licensing rates may be attributed in part to generational shifts in attitudes and cultural changes, such as Generation Z's inclination toward educational trips and their digital upbringing. This research underscores the implications for planners, practitioners, and policymakers in adapting to potential shifts in American car culture. |
| Date: | 2023–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2310.04906&r=tre |
| By: | Bledea, Cosmin Codruț; Pop, Izabela Luiza; Toader, Rita Monica |
| Abstract: | From year to year, the environment situation is worsening at an alarming rate. Air pollution has reached record levels, which is why ozone layer have come to be seriously affected. All these aspects lead to the warming of Earth and had a negative impact on people’s health. Therefore, humanity has begun to focus more and more on remedying these adverse effects through various methods, which are more or less effective. In the case of CO2 emissions that are higher than ever, the solution is a very complex one and difficult to achieve. For this reason, various alternatives have appeared: electric cars, hybrid cars, as well as those with hydrogen, compressed natural gas and bioethanol. Since electric cars are the first choice as an alternative and they have shown a great potential, the purpose of this paper is to present whether or not this alternative is really a “greener” choice or not. To achieve this purpose, a literature review and a data analysis provided by Eurostat, U.S. Department of Energy and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries were performed. The results of this study highlight that the sustainability of the electric cars is influenced by the geographical area where they are used. |
| Keywords: | Economy, Environment, Electric Cars, Sustainability |
| JEL: | O10 O13 |
| Date: | 2022–05–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:118639&r=tre |