nep-tre New Economics Papers
on Transport Economics
Issue of 2022‒03‒21
four papers chosen by
Erik Teodoor Verhoef
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

  1. Residential Neighbourhood Charging of Electric Vehicles: an exploration of user preferences By Budnitz, Hannah; Meelen, Toon; Schwanen, Tim
  2. Behavioural changes in urban mobility in Barcelona due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions By Peters, Corinna
  3. The contribution of bioenergy to the decarbonization of transport: a multi-model assessment By Florian Leblanc; Ruben Bibas; Silvana Mima; Matteo Muratori; Shogo Sakamoto; Fuminori Sano; Nico Bauer; Vassilis Daioglou; Shinichiro Fujimori; Matthew Gidden; Estsushi Kato; Steven Rose; Junichi Tsutsui; Detlef van Vuuren; John Weyant; Marshall Wise
  4. Naughty scooter parking: Public perceptions & policy intervention By Klein, Nicholas J.; Brown, Anne; Thigpen, Calvin

  1. By: Budnitz, Hannah; Meelen, Toon; Schwanen, Tim
    Abstract: In this study, we investigate the preferences for private electric vehicle (EV) charging among households without a private residential charging option. We seek to understand which attributes of a residential neighbourhood charging service would offer an attractive substitute to charging an EV on private property overnight, as is most common among existing EV owners. Our stated choice experiment is designed to reflect preferences for parking as well as charging behaviour in order to ground the choices in trade-offs familiar to a target market representative of car drivers who are unlikely to be able to charge at home. Our findings suggest that this target population has different socio-demographic characteristics from the early adopters of EVs, and that therefore their priorities and preferences are different. Whether on-street or in a car park, the local environment in which the EV charging service sits and the experience of walking home after plugging in the vehicle is of primary importance. Some will also value the certainty of an available space over its convenience.
    Date: 2022–02–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:fsv7n&r=
  2. By: Peters, Corinna
    Abstract: This study assesses changes in mobility behaviour in the City of Barcelona due the COVID‐19 pandemic and its impact on air pollution and GHG emissions. Urban transport is an important source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Improving urban mobility patterns is therefore crucial for mitigating climate change. This study combines quantitative survey data and official government data with in‐depth interviews with public administration officials of the City. Data illustrates that Barcelona has experienced an unprecedented reduction in mobility during the lockdown (a 90% drop) and mobility remained at comparatively low levels throughout the year 2020. Most remarkable is the decrease in the use of public transport in 2020 compared to pre‐pandemic levels, whereas road traffic has decreased to a lesser extent and cycling surged at times to levels up to 60% higher than pre‐pandemic levels. These changes in mobility have led to a radical and historic reduction in air pollution, with NO2 and PM10 concentration complying with WHO guidelines in 2020. Reductions in GHG emissions for Barcelona’s transport sector are estimated at almost 250.000 t CO2eq in 2020 (7% of the City’s overall annual emissions). The study derives policy implications aimed at achieving a long‐term shift towards climate‐friendlier, low‐emission transport in Barcelona, namely how to recover lost demand in public transport and seize the opportunity that the crisis brings for reform by further reducing road traffic and establishing a 'cycling culture' in Barcelona, as already achieved in other European cities.
    Date: 2021–12–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:urvn8&r=
  3. By: Florian Leblanc (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Ruben Bibas (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Silvana Mima (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Matteo Muratori (NREL - National Renewable Energy Laboratory); Shogo Sakamoto (Central Research Institute of Electrical Power Industry); Fuminori Sano (RITE, Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth); Nico Bauer (PIK - Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research); Vassilis Daioglou (PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency); Shinichiro Fujimori (NIES - National Institute for Environmental Studies); Matthew Gidden (Climate Analytics - Partenaires INRAE, IIASA - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis [Laxenburg]); Estsushi Kato (IAE - Institute of Applied Energy); Steven Rose (EPRI - Electrical Power Research Institute - Electrical Power Research Institute); Junichi Tsutsui (Central Research Institute of Electrical Power Industry); Detlef van Vuuren (PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency); John Weyant (Stanford University); Marshall Wise (University of Maryland [College Park] - University of Maryland System)
    Abstract: The expected growth in the demand for mobility and freight services exacerbates the challenges of reducing transport GHG emissions, especially as low-carbon alternatives to petroleum fuels are limited for shipping, air and long-distance road travel. Biofuels can offer a pathway to significantly reduce emissions from these sectors, as they can easily substitute for conventional liquid fuels in internal combustion engines. In this paper we assess the potential of bioenergy to reduce transport GHG emissions through an integrated analysis leveraging various assessment models and scenarios, as part of the 33rd Energy Modeling Forum study (EMF-33). We find that bioenergy can contribute a significant, albeit not dominant, proportion of energy supply to the transport sector: in scenarios aiming to keep the temperature increase below 2°C by the end of the 21st century, models project that bioenergy can provide in average 42 EJ/yr (ranging from 5 to 85 EJ/yr) in 2100 for transport (compared to 3.7 EJ in 2018), mainly through lignocellulosic fuels. This is 9-62% of final transport energy use. Only a small amount of bioenergy is projected to be used in transport through the electricity and hydrogen pathways, with a larger role for biofuels in road passenger transport than in freight. The association of carbon capture and storage (CCS) with bioenergy technologies (BECCS) is a key determinant in the role of biofuels in transport, because of the competition for biomass feedstock to provide other final energy carriers along with carbon removal. Among models that consider CCS in the biofuel conversion process the average market share of biofuels is 21% in 2100, compared to 10% for models that do not. Cumulative direct emissions from the transport sector account for half of the emission budget (from 300 to 670 out of 1,000 GtCO2). However, the carbon intensity of transport decreases as much as other energy sectors in 2100 when accounting for process emissions, including carbon removal from BECCS. Lignocellulosic fuels become more attractive for transport decarbonization if BECCS is not feasible for any energy sectors. Since global transport service demand increases and biomass supply is limited, its allocation to and within the transport sector is uncertain and sensitive to assumptions about political as well as technological and socioeconomic factors.
    Keywords: Bioenergy,Transport sector,Lignocellulosic fuels,Climate mitigation,Integrated Assessment Models
    Date: 2022
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03558507&r=
  4. By: Klein, Nicholas J. (Conrell University); Brown, Anne; Thigpen, Calvin
    Abstract: Shared scooter programs often generate complaints about improper parking as a hazard to pedestrians and as unappealing clutter on sidewalks, yet previous research has found relatively low rates of misparking. What do people think constitutes misparking, and how much misparking do they think occurs? Can interventions further reduce misparking? We conducted field experiments in Washington DC and Auckland, New Zealand. We find evidence for the efficacy of three interventions. The introduction of in-app message reminders and the implementation of sidewalk decals both lowered rates of misparking. The largest improvement in misparking was brought about by the introduction of lock-to, thanks to a large shift from parking in the furniture zone to bike racks. In addition, we assess perceptions of scooter misparking with an intercept survey in the same cities and polls of transportation professionals at four conferences. Both the public and transportation professionals overestimate misparking of scooters and underestimate misparking of bicycles and cars. We find that respondents equate parking compliance with pedestrian accessibility and tidiness. Our results suggest that intuitive parking solutions that align with rider and non-rider understandings of orderly parking, such as bike racks or on-street parking corrals, improve rider compliance and may reduce public dissatisfaction with shared scooter parking.
    Date: 2022–02–15
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:su8wx&r=

This nep-tre issue is ©2022 by Erik Teodoor Verhoef. It is provided as is without any express or implied warranty. It may be freely redistributed in whole or in part for any purpose. If distributed in part, please include this notice.
General information on the NEP project can be found at http://nep.repec.org. For comments please write to the director of NEP, Marco Novarese at <director@nep.repec.org>. Put “NEP” in the subject, otherwise your mail may be rejected.
NEP’s infrastructure is sponsored by the School of Economics and Finance of Massey University in New Zealand.