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on Transport Economics |
| By: | F Belaid; L Yaseen; A De Palma; M Kilani (CY Cergy Paris Université, THEMA) |
| Abstract: | Rapid urban growth in Riyadh is expected to intensify congestion, energy demand, and transport-related emissions, raising the stakes for policy choices that deliver quantifiable results. We develop and apply a calibrated multi-agent model of Riyadh (METROPOLIS2) to compare three levers—targeted electric-vehicle incentives, improved metro accessibility, and telework adoption—and to quantify their effects on traffic, emissions, and traveler welfare. Beyond CO₂, we estimate local pollutants (NOₓ and PM₂.₅) using speed-dependent emission factors, and find that distance-targeted incenves yield larger simulated reductions than uniform EV uptake. At 20% EV share in 2030, targeted incentives reduce CO₂ by 32.3% (vs 20.1% under uniform incentives). For the local pollutants, the corresponding reduction is 26% for NOₓ and 26% for PM₂.₅ (vs 15% for each under uniform incentives). Enhancing first–lastmile metro access cuts annual CO₂ emissions by just over 1 million tonnes and travel times by about 20 percent, while reducing NOₓ by 16.5% (≈4, 451 kg) and PM₂.₅ by 16.6 percent (≈451 kg) per weekday across the network. Telework at 20 percent adoption lowers car use by 5.8 percent and per-trip emissions by 4.6 percent, though non-work trip rebound can erode gains. While these estimates are simulation-based and should be treated as indicative, the results suggest a portfolio logic: concentrate electrification among the city’s highest-mileage drivers, treat metro accessibility as an emissions and air-quality instrument, and pair telework with demand management to preserve environmental gains. |
| Keywords: | Air pollution, Emission reduction strategies, Multi-agent simulation, Environmental impact, Policy interventions, Smart mobility solutions |
| JEL: | C63 R41 R48 Q51 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ema:worpap:2026-05 |
| By: | F Belaid; L Yaseen; A De Palma; M Kilani (CY Cergy Paris Université, THEMA) |
| Abstract: | Urban mobility-related emissions are a growing concern in rapidly expanding cities, driving the need for robust methods to assess and mitigate their environmental impact. Here, we focus on developing a multi-agent model to estimate emissions in Riyadh city as the primary case study. Specifically, this study employs the dynamic traffic simulator, METROPOLIS2, to examine mobility-related emissions and their environmental impact. The framework integrates a cleaned road network, an origin–destination matrix for 162 zones with node– zone assignment, and a simplified metro layer. The model is calibrated to reproduce observed congestion patterns and verified through day-to-day dynamics—convergence in departure/arrival times, route reallocation under congestion, and distance–emissions comovement under a homogeneous fleet. We report generalized cost and emissions indicators at the trip and network levels. The contribution is methodological: a transparent, reproducible baseline for Riyadh that enables credible scenario evaluation. |
| Keywords: | Air pollution, Emission reduction strategies, Multi-agent simulation, Environmental impact, Policy interventions; Smart mobility solutions |
| JEL: | C63 R41 R48 D61 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ema:worpap:2026-07 |
| By: | Meng, Joshua PhD; Kurzhanskiy, Alex PhD |
| Abstract: | Ensuring equitable access to transportation services is critical for supporting the mobility needs of seniors and people with disabilities. In Contra Costa County, California, these populations face significant challenges in finding and using reliable and accessible transit—on demand microtransit services such as paratransit, and other multi-passenger/pooled shuttles or vans—due to the lack of a centralized up-to-date, customer-oriented informational system. These problems are compounded by the difficulties of arranging travel to multiple locations or scheduling trips with different mobility service providers (including paratransit agencies, community-based transit programs, and volunteer drivers programs). |
| Keywords: | Engineering |
| Date: | 2026–03–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt7qd30292 |
| By: | Darling, Wesley; Cassidy, Michael J. PhD |
| Abstract: | Many suburban and rural communities struggle to provide affordable, efficient public transit. Some have replaced underused fixed-route, fixed-schedule public transit with on-demand, door-to-door microtransit services. In some cases, microtransit has provided better service, though it’s only economical when most trips serve multiple riders. In low-demand areas, limited ride consolidation drives costs sharply upward– often exceeding $50 per rider trip. Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), like Uber and Lyft, could help fill this gap. They already provide door-to-door service with extensive driver networks and low overhead. Yet most public-private pilot programs using TNCs to supplement or replace traditional transit have failed to last beyond their initial funding periods. |
| Keywords: | Engineering |
| Date: | 2026–03–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt19z8s80x |
| By: | Patrícia C. Melo; Carlos Sampaio; Miguel Gonçalves; Bruno T. Rocha; João de Abreu e Silva; Valentino Cunha |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the evolution of passenger railway accessibility in Portugal over the fifty-year period from 1971 to 2021, combining historical institutional analysis with a newly constructed longitudinal spatial database of railway infrastructure and services. The study documents how waves of line closures, service restructuring, and selective modernisation reshaped the geography of rail accessibility across Portugal’s municipalities. The empirical analyses reveal a pronounced asymmetry in the evolution of rail accessibility. While the overall share of population served by rail declined only moderately, the territorial coverage of the railway network contracted sharply, particularly between 1988-1992 and again between 2008-2013. The elimination of rail services disproportionately affected low-density municipalities in the interior of the country. At the same time, long-distance and suburban services experienced significant improvements in travel times and service levels, reflecting targeted investment and operational modernisation along a limited number of strategic corridors. The results show that gains in long-distance accessibility, especially along the Lisbon-Porto axis and other major intercity routes, coexisted with a marked deterioration of regional connectivity. Urban and suburban rail services also benefited from relatively stable or increasing service levels, reinforcing the concentration of accessibility gains in metropolitan areas. The analysis points to a process of functional specialisation of railways in Portugal, with systematic prioritisation of long-distance intercity services and urban metropolitan services over regional services, with significant implications for territorial cohesion. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:remwps:wp04102026 |
| By: | Sharma, Dev Mani |
| Abstract: | This study provides the first comparative analysis of fare-free public transport (FFPT) policies for women across seven Indian states. The research compares the urban transport policy reforms of Delhi, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana. All seven reforms share a common objective: providing fare-free travel and enhanced safety to women in state public buses. These policies aim to address key barriers to women’s urban mobility, particularly high transport costs and safety concerns, which often limit their social and economic participation. Using secondary administrative data and published empirical evidence, the research examines the policies to assess the effects on women in India. The preliminary findings indicate a consistent pattern of increased ridership, improved affordability, and measurable household savings, with positive implications for women’s employment access and social inclusion across all seven states. However, the magnitude of these impacts varies across states due to differences in infrastructure capacity, fiscal sustainability, and policy design. The analysis identifies common benefits and recurring challenges, including overcrowding, fiscal pressure, and the exclusion of certain vulnerable groups. The study highlights fare-free public transport as a promising gender-responsive policy tool and outlines conditions under which such schemes are most likely to advance women’s empowerment. |
| Date: | 2026–03–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:7bxvh_v1 |
| By: | Seltzer, Andrew; Wadsworth, Jonathan |
| Abstract: | This paper examines overcrowding, an indicator of low quality of life. We use household-level data from the 1929-31 New Survey of London Life and Labour to construct new estimates of overcrowding and analyze its geographic and economic determinants. We then examine how interwar public policy contributed to declining overcrowding. Improvements to public transportation led to increased worker earnings and housing expenditure. More importantly, public transport allowed workers to live in outer areas with lower overcrowding rates and commute inwards. Housing legislation reduced overcrowding by subsidizing new home construction, thereby increasing dwelling size, reducing rents, and improving housing quality. |
| Keywords: | overcrowding; public transportation; public housing; working-class London |
| JEL: | N94 N74 R21 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:wpaper:137932 |
| By: | Volker, Jamey; Affolter, Bailey; Marantz, Nick; Pike, Susan; DeLeon, Graham |
| Abstract: | In California and many other states, new development projects must undergo an environmental impact analysis as part of the approval process. In California, this happens through the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). While CEQA is designed to ensure thoughtful consideration of environmental effects, it can also invite litigation that can delay or derail projects, even for projects that may benefit the environment, such as transit-oriented development (TOD). TOD aims to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and its associated impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), by locating housing, jobs, and amenities near high-frequency public transit. But when environmental review requirements delay or discourage TOD, the result can be to push development to less accessible areas, leading to more driving, more emissions, and fewer housing options— undermining the very goals CEQA was meant to protect. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| Date: | 2026–04–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt9pg836pq |
| By: | Dugoua, Eugenie; Noailly, Joëlle |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the patterns and mechanisms of global clean technology diffusion over the last two decades. We document four stylized facts: uneven sectoral progress favoring power and light transport; China’s dominance in innovation and manufacturing; the role of modularity in driving cost declines; and limited adoption in developing economies. Through case studies of solar, electric vehicles, and hydrogen, we analyze how policy and infrastructure enable scale. Finally, we assess emerging challenges for the next phase of diffusion, including critical mineral constraints, artificial intelligence, and geopolitical fragmentation. |
| Keywords: | clean technology diffusion; climate change mitigation; renewable energy; industrial policy; solar photovoltaics; electric vehicles; hydrogen |
| JEL: | O33 Q55 |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:137824 |
| By: | Maximilian Bernecker; Felix M\"usgens |
| Abstract: | Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS) can mitigate hard-to-abate emissions, e.g. from transport or industry. However, there is a wide variety of cost estimates for DACCS, driven, to a significant extent, by differences in electricity cost. At the same time, there is a notable gap in research that integrates direct air capturing systems into long-term energy system models. We separate direct air capturing, carbon transport, and carbon storage and integrate them into a European capacity expansion model for a fully decarbonised electricity system in 2050. We explore how two dimensions affect the total system costs of DACCS. The first dimension is the availability of CO2 storage locations: In one analysis, storage locations are restricted to offshore storage locations in the North Sea only, i.e. depleted natural gas fields. The alternative analysis comprises suitable storage locations distributed across Europe, including onshore. We find that limiting CO2 storage to North Sea sites increases overall capture costs by approximately 10 %. The second dimension is whether DACCS is analysed as stand-alone or integrated into the electricity system. We differentiate between three alternatives: fully isolated, fully integrated, and retrospectively added to an existing system. We find that neglecting system integration - i.e. treating direct air capture system as a stand-alone technology - increases capture costs by up to 30 %. |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2604.05990 |
| By: | S{\l}awomir Ku\'zmar |
| Abstract: | The rapid expansion of remote work following the last pandemic has renewed interest in whether spatial decoupling of residence from workplace can contribute to rebalancing regional development across the European Union. This paper examines four interrelated dimensions of remote work-induced residential mobility using the R-MAP survey dataset, a large-scale cross-sectional survey of over 7, 400 remote workers across Europe collected in 2024. First, the spatial direction of post-2020 relocations is analysed, revealing that mobility occurs overwhelmingly within the same urbanisation tier, with urban-to-urban moves accounting for 67% of all relocations. Counter-urban flows to- ward rural areas remain marginal at just 2% of moves, though their relative demograph- ic impact on small rural populations is non-trivial. Second, the motivational structure of relocation decisions is examined, showing that quality-of-life considerations dominate (cited by 78% of movers), followed by economic and housing factors (70%), while digital infrastructure ranks among the least cited reasons. Third, amenity preferences are compared across residential contexts, documenting striking convergence between urban and rural remote workers, with statistically significant differences emerging only for public transport and restaurant access. Fourth, logistic regression models reveal that remote work intensity is a consistent positive predictor of relocation probability, with a transition from 50% to fully remote work associated with a 6.5 percentage point in- crease in relocation likelihood. Age, education, and industry sector also shape mobility patterns. Overall, the findings suggest that remote work primarily stretches metropolitan systems and reinforces peri-urban zones rather than triggering large-scale redistribution toward structurally weaker peripheral regions. |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2604.08252 |