Full text

Turn on search term navigation

© 2023 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Given the need to reduce fuel emissions from transport many research studies have been devoted to the development of technologies and identification of new policies to tackle this problem. The majority of these strategies either increase the costs (e.g., new technology), are more time-consuming (i.e., choosing a more sustainable mode of transport), or encourage consumers to forgo travel plans (i.e., flights to holiday destinations). Implementing any of these changes is challenging for a society where cost, quality and time are the key motivators. The paper differs from previous research, given that the focus is not to slow down global warming, through the development of new technologies, or through inconveniences to lifestyle. Instead, the focus is to improve the sustainability of transport using current technology without increasing the cost or time factor. By using the concept of effective speed, this paper estimates the possible reduction in emissions, external costs and land use if people can be persuaded to choose the most cost-effective mode of transport. The effective speed is calculated by dividing the distance travelled by the time spent (i.e., travelling to work and earning the money to pay for the commute). This case study uses data from a survey of residents in New York City (NYC) and incorporates supporting data about commuting patterns in Germany. If people use their most cost-effective mode of transport in NYC, it is possible to have emission reductions of up to 14.7%, external cost reduction of 11.6% and a reduction in the time–area requirements of 16.5%. The results of this paper highlight that people do not always need to spend more time or money on their transport activity to travel in a more sustainable way. Indeed, encouraging people to use a mode of transport with a faster effective speed may even reduce the external effects for some.

Details

Title
Effective Speed: Can Cost Effective Transportation Be Sustainable (Reducing Emissions and External Costs)?
Author
Schnieder, Maren  VIAFID ORCID Logo 
First page
111
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20763298
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2843050050
Copyright
© 2023 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.