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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Tal, Gil; Nordhoff, Sina; Hardman, Scott; Steren, Aviv; Konstantinou, Theodora; Garcia Sanchez, Juan C; Garas, Dahlia; Favetti, Matthew |
| Abstract: | This study examines the used plug-in electric vehicle market in California through an integrated analysis of Department of Motor Vehicles household registrations from 2023, S&P Global interstate transfer data from 2016 to 2023, and a statewide survey of vehicle owners with approximately 3, 396 respondents. This includes understanding socio-economic, demographic, geographic, and behavior of not only buyers of used PEVs but also buyers of new and used internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The analysis provides empirical evidence on consumer behavior, market dynamics, and barriers to adoption that can inform policy decisions aimed at expanding plug in electric vehicle access across California’s population. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| Date: | 2026–05–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt2x10s12n |
| By: | Wasserman, Jacob L.; Barrall, Aaron; Millard-Ball, Adam PhD; Lee, Amy PhD |
| Abstract: | “Major transit stop”—how these three words are defined determines what can be built where, throughout much of California. To address housing shortages and reduce reliance on driving, California has enacted a number of laws that streamline housing approvals and remove zoning constraints in areas near high-quality transit. Many of these laws allow for greater density, less parking, and faster permitting within half a mile of a “major transit stop, ” defined in California Public Resources Code § 21064.3 as “an existing rail or bus rapid transit station, a ferry terminal served by either a bus or rail transit service, ” or “the intersection of two or more major bus routes with a frequency of service interval of 20 minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods.” In some cases, planned future transit stops included in long-range regional transportation plans may also qualify. |
| Keywords: | Physical Sciences and Mathematics |
| Date: | 2026–05–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt8hk277vb |
| By: | Klumpenhouwer, Willem; Karner, Alex (The University of Texas at Austin); Rahman, Md Hamidur (The University of Texas at Austin) |
| Abstract: | Transportation equity researchers typically quantify either inequality (e.g., how equal are distributions between groups?) or sufficiency (e.g., how many and what kinds of people lack adequate access to the transportation resources?). Sufficiency analyses offer more actionable insights that can be used to mitigate disadvantage, but fundamental analytical methods for sufficiency analyses are not well developed. To advance this area of research and practice, this paper investigates three approaches to measuring sufficiency through the lens of public transport access to jobs: (i) fraction of total regional destinations reachable, (ii) competitiveness with auto access, and (iii) population-weighted percentile measures. We use a class of decomposable Foster-Greer-Thorbecke poverty measures to understand the sensitivity of overall levels of disadvantage to the choice of disadvantage lines (sufficiency thresholds) and other parameters, in the context of seven U.S. urban regions. We find that fractional and auto competitiveness measures produce similar results and are highly sensitive to the choice of disadvantage line, population-weighted percentile measures may allow for better comparisons across demographic groups, and by most reasonable definitions the vast majority of residents (80+%) in an area might be considered to experience access disadvantage. |
| Date: | 2026–05–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:quysr_v1 |
| By: | Valencia-Clavijo, Felipe (Dataplicada) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether first-time battery electric vehicle (BEV) buyers differ systematically from repeat EV owners in their pro-environmental attitudes within California’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP). Building on behavioral environmental economics and the moral licensing literature, this paper examines whether a salient pro-environmental action, purchasing a BEV, may be associated with weaker stated concern for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions among new adopters. Across multiple specifications, first-time BEV buyers are significantly less likely than repeat owners to rate reducing GHG emissions as “extremely important” (p < 0.01), a robust attitudinal gap that persists after adjusting for demographics, household characteristics, income, and survey year. Alternative explanations, such as the technology adoption lifecycle dynamics or income-based financial motivations, receive little empirical support, suggesting that motivational heterogeneity or a mechanism consistent with moral licensing better accounts for the observed differences. Evidence for behavioral rebound is limited and fragile. First-time adopters exhibit at most weak, specification-sensitive tendencies toward longer single trips, and show no differences in annual driving. Overall, the results indicate that incentive projects successfully expand EV adoption but also attract consumers with more diverse and often weaker environmental commitments. These findings underscore the importance of integrating behavioral insights into environmental policy design, particularly when high-salience green actions may interact with attitudes and downstream behaviors in complex ways. |
| Date: | 2026–05–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:zk4eg_v1 |
| By: | James Alm (Tulane University); Farah Khan (Brookings Institution) |
| Abstract: | Who benefits from government fiscal policies? Providing an answer to this question is a crucial element in maintaining the sustainability of government policies. In this paper we extend traditional tax incidence studies to benefit incidence studies, focusing especially on the incidence of government provided public goods in the form of urban transportation infrastructure spending. Valuing and allocating the benefits of government expenditures on public goods are challenging tasks because it is hard to measure (and value) the output of these programs and also because it is hard to allocate the benefits of these programs to individual recipients. One common approach is to determine which households have more or less access to government expenditure programs. However, this “access indicators approach” does not typically allow the valuation of these programs for individuals. We develop an alternative approach that allows us both to measure individual access to government infrastructure programs and to estimate the time savings to individual households from these infrastructure programs. This “time-savings approach” therefore has the potential to enable us to estimate the value of these infrastructure programs for individual households and to allocate these time savings to the households. To illustrate both approaches, we provide detailed examples of their application, using data from Indonesia and Mozambique. We find that both approaches provide useful information on the differential benefits across households of transportation infrastructure programs. Importantly, we also find that the time-savings approach has the potential to provide estimates at the household level of the monetary value of government urban infrastructure improvements via the value of reduced travel time, illustrating the power of this approach in allocating and valuing the benefits of public goods like transportation infrastructure spending for individual households. Fully realizing the potential of the time-savings approach requires access to data with accurate time and distance variables at the household level. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure; sustainability; tax and benefit incidence analysis; fiscal incidence analysis; public goods; geo-spatial data |
| JEL: | H22 H54 O18 Q56 R42 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tul:wpaper:2605 |
| By: | Léa Marquet (Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement); Philippe-E. Roche (NEEL - HELFA - Hélium : du fondamental aux applications - NEEL - Institut Néel - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Gaëlle Lefort (Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement); Tamara Ben-Ari (Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement) |
| Abstract: | Global passenger air traffic has rapidly rebounded after the lifting of COVID-19 travel restrictions, often exceeding pre-pandemic levels. However, evidence on whether business travel has undergone lasting, sector-specific reconfigurations remains scarce. Here we provide a large-scale post-pandemic sectoral analysis, focusing on academia, a highly airmobile sector but equipped with digital alternatives to physical travel. Using a comprehensive French national dataset covering more than 110 000 academic staff and nearly one million business trips between 2019 and 2024, we show that academic air travel has not rebounded but instead stabilized at around 50% of its pre-pandemic level. This decline holds across distances, research disciplines, and travel motives, and translates into a twofold reduction in travel-related greenhouse gas emissions, well beyond institutional climate targets. A decomposition indicates that this reduction is primarily driven by a contraction in flight frequency. Although rail travel declined relative to 2019, we document a marked air-to-rail modal shift at a continental scale and a relative increase in long-distance rail travel. Together, these patterns point to a durable reconfiguration of professional mobility norms rather than a demand contraction. The pronounced drop observed in this sector contrasts sharply with national and Western European air mobility trends, challenging narratives of an inevitable post-covid rebound. This reconfiguration of mobility patterns in academia also challenges influential notions such as the ‘knowledge-action gap' and the ‘fly or die' hypothesis, and provides new insights into the relationship between environmental awareness, professional constraints, and behavior. More broadly, the emergence of these new mobility norms, which occurred in the absence of binding regulations, highlights the role of social and organizational dynamics in driving low-carbon transitions and shaping mobility-related mitigation strategies. |
| Keywords: | behavior change, modal shift, air mobility, academic carbon footprint |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05618002 |
| By: | Wu, Rongzong; Mateos, Angel; Harvey, John |
| Abstract: | In January 2022, the Caltrans Pavement Program asked the University of California Pavement Research Center (UCPRC) to provide a quick high-level estimate of the effects of gross vehicle weight limit increases for trucks on pavement performance and the associated impact on the costs of pavement maintenance (Maintenance budget) and rehabilitation (SHOPP budget). Caltrans is considering increasing the limit from current 80 kips to 88 kips. This technical memorandum was delivered in February 2022. It was updated based on Caltrans comments in the same month and used internally by Caltrans but was not published. In September 2024 the Pavement Program requested that the UCPRC publish the technical memorandum. The results show that the high-level estimate is that the Maintenance and SHOPP budgets for pavement will need to increase by approximately 6% over the current projected 10-year total cost of $20.2 billion, resulting in a 10-year total increase of approximately $1.2 billion. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, gross vehicle weight, pavement life, pavement cost |
| Date: | 2026–03–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt20b9h2c2 |
| By: | Miller, Marshall; Fulton, Lewis |
| Abstract: | California has set some of the most ambitious clean-truck goals in the world. Governor Newsom’s 2020 Executive Order includes a goal that all medium- and heavy-duty trucks be zero-emission by 2045 where feasible. To meet this goal, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved two regulations focusing on trucks—the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, requiring manufacturers to sell zero-emission trucks (ZETs), and the Advanced Clean Fleets rule, requiring fleets to purchase them. Both rules are not currently active, but the targets and aggressive schedules for ZET adoption re-main. This situation creates uncertainty for manufacturers, fleets, and infrastructure providers. |
| Keywords: | Engineering |
| Date: | 2026–05–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt8bw8b4fx |
| By: | Eduardo S Rodriguez-Canales (DANCE - Dynamics and Control of Networks - Centre Inria de l'Université Grenoble Alpes - Inria - Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique - GIPSA-PAD - GIPSA Pôle Automatique et Diagnostic - GIPSA-lab - Grenoble Images Parole Signal Automatique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Paolo Frasca (DANCE - Dynamics and Control of Networks - Centre Inria de l'Université Grenoble Alpes - Inria - Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique - GIPSA-PAD - GIPSA Pôle Automatique et Diagnostic - GIPSA-lab - Grenoble Images Parole Signal Automatique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Alain Y Kibangou (DANCE - Dynamics and Control of Networks - Centre Inria de l'Université Grenoble Alpes - Inria - Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique - GIPSA-PAD - GIPSA Pôle Automatique et Diagnostic - GIPSA-lab - Grenoble Images Parole Signal Automatique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes) |
| Abstract: | Policies promoting green transportation, particularly cycling, are gaining importance in the context of climate change. In order to elucidate the mechanisms behind cycling adoption, this paper proposes a novel compartmental model, which incorporates the time-varying effects of both social influence and contextual factors. We provide a mathematical analysis of the model, showing global convergence to an equilibrium. We also developed a case study of Grenoble, France, which showcases the model's ability to characterize cycling adoption dynamics, highlighting its potential to support sustainable transportation policy design. |
| Date: | 2026–09–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05622159 |
| By: | Léonard Moulin; Valeria Maria Urbano; Lorenzo Maraviglia |
| Abstract: | Congestion pricing policies have been implemented in several cities to reduce traffic congestion and mitigate environmental impacts in urban areas. However, the externalities of such policies may extend beyond traffic reduction, potentially generating indirect effects on health and, consequently, on children’s educational outcomes. This study examines the impact of the congestion policy Area C introduced in Milan in 2012 on the academic performance of primary school pupils. Using a differencein- differences design and individual-level data from academic years 2009/2010 to 2018/2019, we analyze students’ outcomes across grades and subjects based on standardized tests from INVALSI. Our findings show statistically significant positive effects for second-grade students in both Mathematics and Italian, while no significant effects emerge for fifth-grade students. Moreover, the effects are heterogeneous across parental occupational backgrounds, with the largest gains observed among children from lower occupational backgrounds. Our results show that environmental regulation can generate meaningful equity-enhancing effects, narrowing early academic inequalities that mirror the socioeconomic structure of the city. |
| Keywords: | Low-emission zones, congestion policy, air pollution, student achievement, educational inequality, difference-in-differences, Italy, REUSSITE SCOLAIRE / EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT, POPULATION SCOLAIRE / SCHOOL POPULATION, ENSEIGNEMENT PRIMAIRE / PRIMARY EDUCATION, CIRCULATION URBAINE / URBAN TRAFFIC, POLITIQUE DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT / ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, POLLUTION ATMOSPHERIQUE / AIR POLLUTION, ITALIE / ITALY |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idg:wpaper:fbdrrp4bvb1v4zsxa0xr |
| By: | Alessandra Manzini (CY - CY Cergy Paris Université); Irina Martynova; Jing Yu; Xiaoyu Bi; Jordi Jacas Biendicho; Jordi Arbiol; Qing Sun; Chaoqi Zhang; Andreu Cabot |
| Abstract: | The global transition toward efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective energy storage is accelerating, driven by efforts to decarbonize key sectors. Among emerging technologies, sulfur-based conversion cathodes have garnered significant attention as promising candidates for next-generation batteries due to their exceptional theoretical energy density, low cost, and material abundance. Their successful deployment could advance critical applications, including electric mobility, renewable energy integration, and grid stabilization. Despite this potential, sulfur cathodes face persistent limitations that have prevented commercialization. Unlike reviews focusing primarily on materials innovations in idealized settings, this work provides a critical, user-focused assessment that prioritizes challenges of scalable manufacturing and operation under practical conditions. We analyze fundamental failure mechanisms under realistic parameters, including high sulfur loading, lean electrolyte, and limited lithium anode excess, that cause performance to diverge dramatically from target metrics. By synthesizing recent advancements in mechanistic understanding, host design, and interface engineering, we identify key bottlenecks hindering large-scale production. The review concludes with strategic pathways spanning materials design, device architecture, and market integration to bridge the gap between laboratory research and real-world application.The global push toward electrification and substantial greenhouse gas emission reductions is intensifying the need for sustainable technological solutions across the automotive sector and other energy-intensive industries. In this context, energy storage plays a pivotal role, serving as a critical enabler for low-carbon transportation, renewable energy integration, and grid resilience. The rapidly increasing demand for high-performance, scalable, and environmentally sustainable energy storage systems underscores the urgency of selecting appropriate battery technologies. This requires careful consideration of battery chemistries that can satisfy both short-term performance targets and long-term resource, cost, and sustainability constraints.At present, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) dominate the energy storage market, with cell costs averaging approximately €110/kWh 1-3 . However, the pricing of LIBs remains highly sensitive to fluctuations in the cost of critical raw materials such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium, which have experienced significant volatility, reaching a peak in 2022 followed by a notable decline in 2024 4 . While recent reductions in raw material prices have temporarily eased cost pressures, this downward trend is not expected to be sustainable.Upstream supply chains are facing increasing strain, and projections indicate that future mineral demand will substantially exceed historical levels 5 . Achieving global decarbonization targets will require a sharp rise in the production of key metals such as cobalt, copper, tin, and zinc. However, expanding supply is hindered by long project lead times, declining ore grades, and increasing geopolitical and environmental constraints 5 . Establishing a stable and equitable pricing environment that ensures upstream viability while maintaining downstream affordability is therefore essential to support the continued growth and sustainability of LIB technologies. At the same time, these structural limitations highlight the urgent need to diversify battery chemistries by exploring alternative systems based on more earthabundant, geopolitically secure, and cost-effective materials to enhance the long-term resilience and scalability of energy storage infrastructure.Battery manufacturers and end users must remain agile in adapting to rapidly evolving technologies, supply chain limitations, and shifting market dynamics 1 . Battery cost continues to be a critical determinant of the competitiveness and scalability of energy storage systems. Affordable electric vehicles (EVs) offering long range, rapid charging, and robust safety, along |
| Keywords: | Batteries, Next generation, Technology, Sulfur cathodes, Critical Raw Materials CRM |
| Date: | 2026–04–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05618205 |
| By: | Jhorland Ayala-García; Yesica Tatiana Lara-Silva; Alejandro Alberto Vargas-Villamil; Lina Romero-Chaparro |
| Abstract: | Las disrupciones de conectividad en la infraestructura vial se transmiten con rapidez a la formación de precios de los alimentos. Este documento cuantifica el efecto de los cierres de la vía Bogotá-Villavicencio, corredor que articula la Orinoquía con los principales centros de consumo del país, sobre los precios de los alimentos en Colombia. Se construye una base de datos en panel a partir del Sistema de Información de Precios y Abastecimiento del Sector Agropecuario (SIPSA) del DANE, enlazada con registros del Instituto Nacional de Vías (INVIAS) sobre episodios de cierre para el periodo 2014 a 2024. Mediante estimaciones de panel con efectos fijos por producto y mercado con controles temporales, el estudio documenta incrementos estadísticamente significativos en los precios durante los cierres, consistentes con mayores costos logísticos y restricciones de abastecimiento. Los resultados indican que las disrupciones en corredores estratégicos inciden de manera inmediata en el bienestar del consumidor y respaldan la necesidad de estrategias de gestión del riesgo y de fortalecimiento de la resiliencia de la infraestructura vial.*****ABSTRACT: Connectivity disruptions in transport infrastructure quickly pass through to the formation of food prices. This paper quantifies the effect of closures on the Bogotá–Villavicencio Road, a corridor that links the Orinoquía region with the country’s main consumption centers, on food prices in Colombia. A panel dataset is constructed from the Agricultural Sector Price and Supply Information System (SIPSA, in Spanish) of DANE, linked to records from the National Institute of Roads (INVIAS, in Spanish) on closure episodes for the 2014–2024 period. Using panel estimations with product and market fixed effects and time controls, the study documents statistically significant price increases during closures, consistent with higher logistics costs and supply constraints. The results indicate that disruptions in strategic corridors have an immediate impact on consumer welfare and support the need for risk‑management strategies and the strengthening of road‑infrastructure resilience. |
| Keywords: | Cierres viales, abastecimiento, Precios, alimentos, Road closures, supply, prices, Food |
| JEL: | R1 R41 C23 D12 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdr:region:343 |
| By: | Karshenas, M.; Pesaran, M. H.; Smith, R. P. |
| Abstract: | The current restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz imposes significant costs on the global economy. Rather than attempting to reverse this situation through military means, a more viable approach may be to institutionalize the emerging arrangement in which Iran, in coordination with littoral states on the opposite shore, guarantees safe transit while charging a toll for service provision. Such an arrangement would resemble the system governing passage through the Turkish Straits under the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits. The likely toll would be small relative to the value of goods in transit or the immense costs associated with forcibly reopening the Strait. Moreover, a stable revenue stream could create incentives for Iran to maximize shipping throughput rather than restrict it. Attempting to open the Strait by military means and ensuring that the flow is sustained in the future, and not disrupted again, would require the U.S. to succeed in installing a more compliant government in Iran. It is very unlikely that the US could use naval and air power to deter or depose the present regime, defend ships transiting the Strait, or destroy all the Iranian munitions threatening shipping. The monetary cost of regime change in Iran is likely to be many times the $3-5 trillion estimate of the cost of the U.S. involvement in Iraq, compared to the total U.S. military budget of $962 billion for 2025. Iran has about three times the area and more than three times the population of Iraq in 2003. Regime change may not be feasible. Similar amounts were pent by the U.S. in Afghanistan and still failed to sustain a compliant regime. |
| Keywords: | Shipping, Transit Costs, Global Supply Chains |
| JEL: | F68 G22 |
| Date: | 2026–04–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:2632 |
| By: | Restrepo, Laura; Parés Olguín, Francisco; Ramji, Aditya; Bastida-Escamilla, Eduardo; Rivera-Royero, Daniel |
| Abstract: | Este reporte está disponible en español en: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1570t84x This report presents the findings of a collaborative applied research initiative on the electrification of light commercial vehicle (LCV) fleets in Mexico. Conducted by the Global South Center for Clean Transportation (GSC) at UC Davis, the study began with a set of semi-structured interviews with fleet operators and supply chain managers. These interviews helped identify key operational concerns, barriers, and opportunities, and informed the design of the broader industry survey discussed in this report. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| Date: | 2026–05–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt5824s35r |