Multicriterion Sustainability Assessment in Transportation: Private Cars, Carsharing, and Transit Buses

The increase in the number of hybrid electric vehicles and carshare users in the United States in the past decade urges transportation officials to incorporate vehicle characteristics into traditional transportation planning and sustainability assessments. This study updates the state of the art in three main ways: (a) employs a life-cycle approach instead of focusing only on the operation of modes, (b) disaggregates vehicles by type instead of assuming a uniform light-duty vehicle fleet, and (c) assesses conventional and hybrid technologies explicitly for travel mode combinations instead of assuming only fossil fuel–powered vehicles and private cars. The sustainability framework used in this study sets the direction for a multicriterion assessment of urban transportation. Six highway vehicles and modes are analyzed: an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a carsharing program with ICEVs, a carsharing program with HEVs, a diesel bus, and a hybrid diesel–electric bus. The three travel combinations are developed into three case studies: (a) passenger vehicle only, (b) passenger vehicle and public bus, and (c) carsharing and public bus. The results show that the inclusion of carsharing in the travel mix is the best option. The most sustainable mode, relative to the other five, is found to be carsharing with HEVs. The superior performance of carsharing over transit buses reveals opportunities for new policies in sustainable transportation.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.3141/2403-07
• Summary URL:
  • http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Multicriterion+Sustainability+Assessment+in+Transportation%3a+Private+Cars%2c+Carsharing%2c+and+Transit+Buses&author=L.+Mitropoulos&author=P.+Prevedouros&publication_year=2014
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780309294966
• Authors:
  • Mitropoulos, L K
  • Prevedouros, P D
• Publication Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 52–61
• Monograph Title: Environment and Sustainability 2014
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Issue Number: 2403
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Hybrid vehicles; Life cycle analysis; Passenger vehicles; Sustainable transportation; Transit buses; Vehicle sharing
• Subject Areas: Energy; Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning; I96: Vehicle Operating Costs;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01515630
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780309294966
• Report/Paper Numbers: 14-1486
• Files: PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 24 2014 4:47PM