Ridesharing in North America: Past,Present, and Future

Since the late 1990s, numerous ridematching programmes have integrated the Internet, mobile phones, and social networking into their services. Online ridematching systems are employing a range of new strategies to create “critical mass”: (1) regional and large employer partnerships, (2) financial incentives, (3) social networking to younger populations, and (4) real-time ridematching services that employ “smartphones” and automated ridematching software. Enhanced casual carpooling approaches, which focus on “meeting places”, are also being explored. Today, ridesharing represents approximately 8–11% of the transportation modal share in Canada and the USA, respectively. There are approximately 638 ridematching programmes in North America. Ridesharing's evolution can be categorized into five phases: (1) World War II car-sharing (or carpooling) clubs; (2) major responses to the 1970s energy crises; (3) early organized ridesharing schemes; (4) reliable ridesharing systems; and (5) technology-enabled ridematching. While ridesharing's future growth and direction are uncertain, the next decade is likely to include greater interoperability among services, technology integration, and stronger policy support. In light of growing concerns about climate change, congestion, and oil dependency, more research is needed to better understand ridesharing's impacts on infrastructure, congestion, and energy/emissions.     

Legitimising risk taking: articulating dangerous behaviour on the road

Using a deliberative approach 228 members of the public from four locations in the United Kingdom took part in six focus groups that met on three occasions. Applying a model based on two interlocking sets of theories (Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory) in the analysis of participants' responses, the paper explores the social and environmental systems that an individual interacts with in the articulation of risky behaviours on the road. Participants discussed how taking risks changed over their lifecourse and how they became safer with age. Social norms and perceived behavioural control influence road user safety behaviour through the exchanging of attitudes, and younger drivers especially are more likely to embrace the symbolic role of the car. The paper concludes that the nature of identity and culture within risk taking is important when designing interventions on the ground.     

Dockless bike-sharing systems: what are the implications?

ABSTRACT

The emergence of dockless bike-sharing services has revolutionised bike-sharing markets in recent years, and the dramatic growth of shared bike fleets in China, as well as their rapid expansion throughout the world, exceeds prior expectations. An understanding of the impacts of these new dockless bike-sharing systems is of vital importance for system operations, transportation and urban planning research. This paper provides a first overview of the emerging literature on implications of dockless bike-sharing systems for users' travel behaviour, user experience, and relevant social impacts of dockless bike-sharing systems. Our review suggests that the dockless design of bike-sharing systems significantly improves users' experiences at the end of their bike trips. Individuals can instantly switch to a dockless shared bike without the responsibility of returning it back to a designated dock. Additionally, the high flexibility and efficiency of dockless bike-sharing often makes the bike-sharing systems' integration with public transit even tighter than that of traditional public bikes, providing an efficient option for first/last-mile trips. The GPS tracking device embedded in each dockless shared bike enables the unprecedented collection of large-scale riding trajectory data, which allow scholars to analyse people's travel behaviour in new ways. Although many studies have investigated travel satisfaction amongst cyclists, there is a lack of knowledge of the satisfaction with bikeshare trips, including both station-based and dockless bikeshare systems. The availability and usage rates of dockless bike-sharing systems implies that they may seriously impact on individuals' subjective well-being by influencing their satisfaction with their travel experiences, health and social participation, which requires further exploration. The impact of dockless bike-sharing on users' access to services and social activities and the related decreases in social exclusion are also relevant issues about which knowledge is lacking. With the increases in popularity of dockless shared bikes in some cities, issues related to the equity and access and the implications for social exclusion and inequality are also raised.     

A vehicle manufacturer's view of the potential for electric automobiles

In the search for low pollution, low noise, multi‐fuel vehicles capable of adapting to almost any source of energy available, the electric vehicle continues to be suggested in a variety of forms. In the long‐term view, working on the hypothesis that either solar or nuclear energy can provide the only inexhaustible energy supplies, electric propulsion will undoubtedly have a significant role to perform, and it could provide a useful means of transport in the transition period out of the current dependency on crude oil.

There are, however, some grave question marks hanging over the viability of electric vehicles on a large scale both in terms of their energy efficiency and practicality. This paper describes the state of development and discusses the future prospects.     

Modeling of individual vehicle safety and fuel consumption under comprehensive external conditions

This research intends to explore external factors affecting driving safety and fuel consumption, and build a risk and fuel consumption prediction model for individual drivers based on natural driving data. Based on 120 taxi drivers’ natural driving data during 4 months, driving behavior data under various conditions of the roadway, traffic, weather, and time of day are extracted. The driver's fuel consumption is directly collected by the on-board diagnostics (OBD) unit, and safety index is calculated based on Data Threshold Violations (DTV) and Phase Plane Analysis with Limits (PPAL) considering speed, longitudinal and lateral acceleration. By using a linear mixed model explaining the fixed effect of the external conditions and the random effect of the driver, the influences of various external factors on fuel consumption and safety are analyzed and discussed. The prediction model lays a foundation for drivers' fuel consumption and risk prediction in different external conditions, which could help improve individual driving behavior for the benefit of both fuel consumption and safety.     

Assessing the financial value of real-time energy trading services for privately owned non-commercial electric vehicles

Real-time energy trading services for privately owned non-commercial electric vehicles are characterized by an e-vehicle provider, by a provider of energy trading skills and technology, and by the fact that the latter manages (dis-)charging of the e-vehicle of the former with real-time energy prices. We conduct a simulation study to present a comprehensive assessment of the financial value of such services. Such an assessment is required in order to provide policymakers with guidance on if and how real-time trading services can serve as a tool to incentivize e-vehicle ownership. We propose a fully reproducible simulation model of the value creation process of real-time trading services, and use the model to assess services with a range of e-vehicle provider characteristics as well as with a range of technology setups. Our empirical results show that all considered real-time trading services are able to create significant energy cost savings, and that overall cost savings strongly depend on technology characteristics, surcharge rate, as well as on the e-vehicle provider's commute, household size, and office hours. We show that services including solar energy generation have the largest economic potential but do not necessarily maximize renewable energy deployment with residential households. We conclude with recommendations for policymakers on how to tap the full economic potential of real-time trading services for stimulating the adoption of e-vehicles.     

Assessment of energy-saving techniques in direct-current-electrified mass transit systems

Railway rapid transit systems are key stones for the sustainability of mass transit in developed countries. The overwhelming majority of these railway systems are direct-current (DC) electrified and several energy-saving techniques have been proposed in the literature for these systems. The use of regenerative-braking in trains is generally recognised as the main tool to improve the efficiency of DC-electrified mass transit railway systems but the energy recovered in braking cannot always be handled efficiently, above all in low traffic-density situations. Several emerging technologies as energy storage systems or reversible traction substations have the potential for making it possible to efficiently use train-braking. However, a systematic evaluation of their effect is missing in the literature.In this paper, a deep, rigorous and comprehensive study on the factors which affect energy issues in a DC-electrified mass transit railway system is carried out. This study clarifies what the actual potential is for energy saving in each situation. Then, a methodology to asses several energy-saving techniques to improve energy efficiency in DC-electrified mass transit systems is presented, constituting the main contribution of this paper. This methodology has been conceived to help operators in assessing the effect of railway-infrastructure emerging technologies in transit systems, so making it possible to shape planning, capacity, etc. It is stepped out in three basic movements. First of all, a traffic-density scan analysis is conducted in order to clarify the effect of the headway on system behaviour. Secondly, several traffic-density scenarios are simulated for a set of infrastructure-expanded cases. Finally, annual energy saving is evaluated by applying a realistic operation timetable. This methodology has been applied to a case study in Madrid Metro (Spain) to illustrate the steps of its application and the effect of several energy-saving techniques on this specific system. Results confirm that regenerative braking generally leads to an important increase of system energy efficiency – especially at high traffic-density scenarios. It has also been proved that infrastructure improvements can also contribute to energy savings and their contributions are more significant at low traffic densities. Annual energy results have been obtained, which may lead to investment decisions by carrying out an appropriate economic assessment based on cost analysis.The main results of the study presented here are likely to apply to other electric traction systems, at least qualitatively.     

A survey of the Swiss public transport system and policy

This paper surveys Swiss public transport structure and policy. The regulatory regime is explained with the division between the two operators working under federal monopoly — the State railways (SBB) and the postbuses (PTT) — and the rest of the system. The rather complicated Swiss subsidy arrangements are described. The federal government's emphasis on introducing cheap public transport fares on environmental grounds through the federal transport measures (BTM) and the use of cheap fares in urban areas are discussed. The paper notes the Swiss people's rejection by a referendum of a federal commission's proposal for an integrated transport policy, though some of the solutions were introduced in their own right: the division of SBB into two parts, and the creation of the concept Rail 2000, later developed into Rail + Bus 2000. Finally, the paper reviews problems of the Swiss policy, including the future of cheap fares, making some comparisons with developments in Scandinavia.     

Capital structure in the world airline industry

This article presents a managerial approach to the airline capital structure through a definition of an efficient frontier. To develop the analysis a technique called data envelopment analysis was used. This paper tests the hypothesis that airline industry's financial performance depends on companies keeping a reasonable level of leverage and also seeks to establish this level. The research identifies the biggest airline companies which use capital efficiently to generate return with a low level of fixed assets. In these companies, shareholders' capital represents at least 40% of all funds employed. It could be seen by simplifying the analysis that it is possible to identify the most and the least efficient companies by studying their indebtedness and return on assets. A large proportion of the companies are moving to reduce their level of indebtedness and raise their returns over the course of time. The analysis by country revealed that countries do not offer comparative advantages, with the companies' performance depending fundamentally on their management.     

An assessment of the demand for new transport technology in Australia

This paper summarizes the constraints which a technological innovation in transport must satisfy if it is to achieve widespread application. The existing and likely future travel demands in Australia are reviewed, and for certain types of travel it is concluded that existing modes may become unsuitable or unacceptable. In these areas, it is possible that a new transport technology may find application. In all other areas, it is considered that existing modes, or their functional successors, will continue.

Five possible demand areas in which new transport technology may find application are identified. These are as follows:

1) High speed distribution systems may be introduced in Australian CBD's (Central Business Districts) within the next ten years. These may be progressively extended to provide radial public transport services to the CBD. It is also possible that these systems may eventually be extended to provide a dual‐mode capability in inner‐suburban areas as a partial alternative to freeway construction.

2) New town developments which may be introduced in Australia could include various forms of advanced transportation systems.

3) New aviation modes, possibly including short take off and landing aircraft operating from suburban airports may be introduced to cater for inter‐urban travel.

4) A demand‐responsive transport system to cater for the needs of the transport poor in urban areas may find limited application.

5) In the longer term, possibly by the turn of the century, an improved transport system capable of providing door‐to‐door service over the whole of an urban area and operating under a dual‐mode configuration appears to be possible. It probably would emerge from development of an incremental nature and eventually include the installation of a new technology in the then existing freeway and railway reservations in the city.     

The use of GIS and relational database management systems to improve the scheduling operations of paratransit

The scheduling operations of many paratransit agencies in the United States are undertaken manually. Those customers who are eligible to travel call in their requests the day before the trip is needed. As the trip requests are received, they are entered into a list of unscheduled trips. In order to schedule these trips, the scheduler must first determine the number of drivers and shuttle buses that are available as well as the time of availability of each. The scheduler must then try to match the rides that are in “similar” areas around the “same” time to place together on the driver's schedule. As new trip requests are made, the schedulers must adjust the trips that are already scheduled to try and schedule as many trips as possible in the most efficient way.

By developing a system that would improve the scheduling system operations of, in this case, DART (Delaware Administration for Regional Transit) First State Paratransit, customers can expect to receive better service that will improve their ability to travel throughout the community. Some devices that could also improve the operations of paratransit agencies are described in this paper, such as satellite‐based Global Positioning System (GPS), radio communication systems, mobile computers, radio frequency‐based data communication systems, internet web pages, automated paratransit information systems, and card‐based data storage and transfer media. However, because paratransit systems are difficult to operate cost‐efficiently, the optimum and most cost‐efficient device must be selected. The system chosen for DART First State Paratransit includes the use of a relational database management system (RDMS) and a transportation Geographic Information System (GIS). RDMS keeps track of the database information as well as the scheduled trips and the GIS is ideal for analyzing both geographic and temporal data. This system is shown to be superior to the manual system.     

Combining Intermodal Transport With Electric Vehicles: Towards More Sustainable Solutions

Abstract

This paper analyses the feasibility of incorporating electric or hybrid vehicles in intermodal transport for the transportation of containers in the pre- and post haulage (PPH) operation. In Europe, the intermodal transport market is being strongly supported, as it is seen as one of the keystones of a sustainable mobility system policy. The introduction of environmentally friendly electric/hybrid vehicles for the pre- and post haulage operation would mean a further enhancement leading to a more complete ecological intermodal transport chain. PPH operations are usually no longer than 30 km, and, hence, could possibly be handled by electric or hybrid vehicles.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) combine electric and other drive systems, such as internal combustion engines, gas turbines and fuel cells. Hybrid electric vehicles merge the zero pollution and high efficiency benefits of electric traction with the high fuel energy density benefits of an energy source or thermal engine. The use of electrically driven vehicles for goods distribution has already been successfully proven in international demonstration projects, such as ELCIDIS. Transport of intermodal units (such as ISO containers), however, requires electric/hybrid heavy-duty goods vehicles, which are not readily available on the market, but for which the technology exists.

Different possibilities are assessed as to their technical, financial, organizational and environmental feasibility and suitability. This analysis is based on a typical mission for pre-and post haulage operations, such as type of trips, distance, frequency, urban/suburban, etc.     

A valuation of the environmental performance of vehicles: an analysis and comparison of two methodologies

The European Clean Vehicle Directive was introduced in 2009 to create an obligation on public authorities to take into account the impact of energy consumption, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and pollutant emissions into their purchasing decisions for road transport vehicles. This should stimulate the market for clean and energy-efficient vehicles and improve transport's impact on environment, climate change and energy use. Therefore the so-called ‘Operational Lifetime Cost’ of a vehicle is calculated, divided into the cost for energy consumption, CO₂ and pollutant (nitrous oxide, particulate matter, non-methane hydrocarbons) emissions. In Belgium, a different methodology has been developed to calculate the environmental impact of a vehicle, called ‘Ecoscore’, based on a well-to-wheel approach. More pollutants are included compared to the Clean Vehicle methodology, but also indirect emissions are taken into account. In this paper, both methodologies are compared and used to analyze the environmental performance of passenger cars with different fuel types and from different vehicle segments. Similar rankings between both methodologies are obtained; however, the large impact of energy use (and CO₂ emissions) in the Clean Vehicle methodology disadvantages compressed natural gas cars, as well as diesel cars equipped with particulate filters, compared to the Ecoscore methodology.     

Sustainable Transport in the European Union: A Review of the Past Research and Future Ideas

Abstract

This paper presents a review of the research on the sustainability of transport systems carried out over the last 15 years for the European Union (EU), identifies some missing gaps and elaborates on the prospective future ideas. The general concept of sustainable development and definitions of sustainability of transport systems and their operationalization are discussed. These are followed by the general review of the research on the sustainable transport systems funded by the EU 4th, 5th and 6th Framework Programs. Consequently, refinement of existing and/or developing an innovative system for monitoring sustainability of transport systems in the EU based on the indicator system(s) of performances is suggested as a prospective research idea.     

Capabilities and Radicalism: Engineering Accessibility in the 21st century

Abstract

Engineering bridges the gap between, on the one hand, that mix of philosophy and politics that we call policy and, on the other, the physical implementation of the means to put policy into practice. Starting with a brief outline of the nature of accessibility, why it is important and how in some cases a person might be disabled by a lack of accessibility, this article – based on the author's Inaugural Lecture given at University College London in February 2005 – turns to consider how a person's needs challenge their capabilities (i.e. what they can do) and considers a radical approach to understanding people's capabilities in the implementation process. Next, the formation of policy intentions in order to permit, encourage and implement the engineering of appropriate solutions is discussed and conclusions drawn about how this affects work in the transport domain. Perhaps we need to look at the world in a different way before we can make it a better place.     

Transport in Brasilia: the limits of aesthetics

The idea of moving the capital of the country from the coast to Brazil's vast but isolated interior goes back nearly two centuries. The basic motivation was to encourage construction of a national highway system, which in turn would encourage economic development of the interior and reduce regional disparities. The construction of Brasilia was an integral part of President Kubitschek's national development programme in the late 1950s, accompanied by expansion and sophistication of the energy, steel, automotive and road building industries. By 1975, highway transport times and costs had been reduced to some 20–26% of their former levels in most regions, with the Central‐West, where Brasilia is located, being the area with the greatest cost reductions. Despite the success of this development package, Brasilia's transport system has been less successful on a local and regional basis. Most of the problems within the city proper (the Pilot Plan), are due to the excessive emphasis on facilitating car traffic to the disadvantage of buses and non‐motorized traffic, while there are no local rail services. The regional transport problem stems from the location of the satellite cities far from the Pilot Plan, forcing low‐income bus riders to spend 3–4 hours daily in transit and up to 30% of the minimum wage on the journey to work. Improvements depend on institutional and policy changes affecting locational patterns, demand peaks and modal split.     

Valorization of carbon dioxide by conversion into fuel using renewable energy in Algeria

Reducing the emissions of the main anthropogenic greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), is one of the major challenges of this century. A partial solution to these environmental problems could be the capture and the conversion of carbon dioxide. The main objective of the present work is to study the opportunities and prospects of recycling carbon dioxide to produce synthetic fuel, particularly methanol, which is a complementary technology to carbon capture and storage (CCS). This methanol will be produced by using several renewable energies, such as solar, wind and geothermal, for the purpose of using it in the transportation sector in Algeria. In 2013, Algeria’s total amount of CO₂ emissions (created by energy consumption) was 143 million tonnes. It is estimated that 44.4 million tonnes of CO₂ can be captured from the exhaust of stationary units (factories and power stations) and converted to methanol every year. By adopting this process, approximately 32 million tonnes of methanol can be produced with an energy value of 580,000 TJ. The methanol produced from CO₂ can be used as an alternative transportation fuel. For this reason, the Geographical Information System (GIS) is used to present the spatial distribution of the methanol demand in short and long terms, based on market penetration rates, vehicle fleet and population data. An analysis of the energy balance, environment and economics of CO₂ recycling process is presented. In terms of environmental performance, the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions that come from the transport sector was remarkable in 2045.     

Assessing the cost of transfer inconvenience in public transport systems: A case study of the London Underground

Few studies have adequately assessed the cost of transfers² in public transport systems, or provided useful guidance on transfer improvements, such as where to invest (which facility), how to invest (which aspect), and how much to invest (quantitative justification of the investment). This paper proposes a new method based on path choice,³ taking into account both the operator’s service supply and the customers’ subjective perceptions to assess transfer cost and to identify ways to reduce it. This method evaluates different transfer components (e.g., transfer walking, waiting, and penalty) with distinct policy solutions and differentiates between transfer stations and movements.The method is applied to one of the largest and most complex public transport systems in the world, the London Underground (LUL), with a focus on 17 major transfer stations and 303 transfer movements. This study confirms that transfers pose a significant cost to LUL, and that cost is distributed unevenly across stations and across platforms at a station. Transfer stations are perceived very differently by passengers in terms of their overall cost and composition. The case study suggests that a better understanding of transfer behavior and improvements to the transfer experience could significantly benefit public transport systems.     

Estimation of driving style in naturalistic highway traffic using maneuver transition probabilities

Accurately estimating driving styles is crucial to designing useful driver assistance systems and vehicle control systems for autonomous driving that match how people drive. This paper presents a novel way to identify driving style not in terms of the durations or frequencies of individual maneuver states, but rather the transition patterns between them to see how they are interrelated. Driving behavior in highway traffic was categorized into 12 maneuver states, based on which 144 (12 × 12) maneuver transition probabilities were obtained. A conditional likelihood maximization method was employed to extract typical maneuver transition patterns that could represent driving style strategies, from the 144 probabilities. Random forest algorithm was adopted to classify driving styles using the selected features. Results showed that transitions concerning five maneuver states – free driving, approaching, near following, constrained left and right lane changes – could be used to classify driving style reliably. Comparisons with traditional methods were presented and discussed in detail to show that transition probabilities between maneuvers were better at predicting driving style than traditional maneuver frequencies in behavioral analysis.     

Assessing carbon reduction effects toward the mode shift of green transportation system

Plans are underway to introduce green transportation systems at Taiwan's famous scenic spot, Sun Moon Lake, to reduce carbon emissions. Carbon reduction effects after changing the current lake tour modes are assessed using a nested logit model with a stated preference survey, which investigated tourists' choice preferences. The empirical results reveal that the modes of electric bus, electric vehicle sharing, and bike are clustered in the same competitive group. Travel cost, in‐vehicle travel time, and out‐vehicle travel time are found to be statistically significant with the expected negative effects. In particular, the attribute of carbon reduction is only significant for green tourists, who are willing to pay US$ 3.5/kg of carbon saved. The result indicates that more efficient carbon reduction is possible by restricting the usage of gasoline vehicles rather than improving the service levels of low‐carbon modes. Notably, the effect of parking charges on emission reduction is equal to the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by 4511 trees per day. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.