Are HOV/eco-lanes a sustainable option to reducing emissions in a medium-sized European city?

Innovative traffic management measures are needed to reduce transportation-related emissions. While in Europe, road lane management has focused mainly on introduction of bus lanes, the conversion to High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV) and eco-lanes (lanes dedicated to vehicles running on alternative fuels) has not been studied comprehensively. The objectives of this research are to: (1) Develop an integrated microscopic modeling platform calibrated with real world data to assess both traffic and emissions impacts of future Traffic Management Strategies (TMS) in an urban area; (2) Evaluate the introduction of HOV/eco-lanes in three different types of roads, freeway, arterial and urban routes, in an European medium-sized city and its effects in terms of emissions and traffic performance. The methodology consists of three distinct phases: (a) Traffic and road inventory data collection; (b) Traffic and emissions simulation using an integrated platform of microscopic simulation; and (c) Evaluation of scenarios. For the baseline scenario, the statistical analysis shows valid results. The results show that HOV and eco-lanes in a medium European city are feasible, and when the Average Occupancy of Vehicles (AOV) increases, on freeways, the majority of vehicles can reduce their travel time (2%) with a positive impact in terms of total emissions (−38% NOx, −39% HC, −43% CO and −37% CO₂). On urban and arterial corridors, the reduction in emissions could be achieved only if the AOV increases from 1.50 to 1.70 passengers/vehicle. Total emissions of the corridor with an AOV of 1.70 passengers/vehicle can be reduced up to 35–36% for the urban route while the values can be reduced by 36–39% for the arterial road. With the introduction of Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) and Electric Vehicles (EV) it is possible to reduce emissions, although the introduction of eco-lanes did not show significant reductions in emissions. When both policies are simulated together, an emissions improvement is observed for the arterial route and for two of the scenarios.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2014.03.002
• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856414000597
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/09658564
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Fontes, Tânia
  • Fernandes, Paulo
  • Rodrigues, Hugo
  • Bandeira, Jorge M
  • Pereira, Sérgio R
  • Khattak, Asad J
  • Coelho, Margarida C
• Publication Date: 2014-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 93-106
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice
  • Volume: 63
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0965-8564
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09658564

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air quality management; Electric vehicles; High occupancy vehicle lanes; Medium sized cities; Microscopic traffic flow; Plug-in hybrid vehicles; Sustainable development; Travel demand management; Travel time
• Geographic Terms: Europe
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I15: Environment; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01526648
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 29 2014 10:15AM