Estimating and Incorporating CO2 Emissions and Associated Fuel Consumption into the Urban Mobility Report

Texas A&M Transportation Institute's (TTI's) Urban Mobility Report (UMR) is acknowledged as the most authoritative source of information about traffic congestion and its possible solutions. As policymakers from the local to national levels devise strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, the level of interest in the environmental impact of congestion has increased. To this end, this research effort developed and applied a methodology for determining the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) due to congestion for use in the UMR. The methodology also estimated fuel consumption based upon the carbon dioxide emissions estimates. Researchers at TTI collaborated with researchers at the Wisconsin Energy Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to develop CO2 estimates to include in the UMR. Researchers developed a five-step methodology using data from three primary data sources: 1) the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS), 2) INRIX traffic speed data, and 3) The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) model. The research successfully developed and applied the methodology. Emission rates (lbs of CO2 per mile) were validated in selected cities, with results in the range of 80% to 99% of the literature values. Researchers incorporated the new methodology for all urban areas into the 2012 Urban Mobility Report and plan to include these same measures in future releases of the report. Researchers reported that, in 2011, 56 billion pounds of additional CO2 were produced in all 498 urban areas during congestion only, equating to 2.9 billion gallons of “wasted” fuel. Researchers reported the amount of CO2 produced at free-flow conditions (i.e., absent congestion) is 1.8 trillion pounds in 2011 in all 498 urban areas.

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• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/26177
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education (CFIRE)

  University of Wisconsin, Madison
  1415 Engineering Drive, 2205 Engineering Hall
  Madison, WI  United States  53706

  Texas A&M Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System
  3135 TAMU
  College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Eisele, William L
  • Fossett, Tyler
  • Schrank, David L
  • Farzaneh, Mohamadreza
  • Meier, Paul J
  • Williams, Scott P
• Publication Date: 2013-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 44p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air quality; Carbon dioxide; Estimating; Exhaust gases; Fuel consumption; Methodology; Mobility; Pollutants; Traffic congestion; Urban areas
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; I15: Environment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01491336
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: CFIRE 05-16
• Contract Numbers: DTRT06-G-0020
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, RITA, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Sep 3 2013 12:24PM