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Planning and Optimization of Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Transportation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 16 May 2024 | Viewed by 4866

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Interests: transportation planning; network design; public transport; artificial intelligence

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Guest Editor
School of Rural, Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece
Interests: transportation planning; public transportation; infrastructure management; operations research; transportation economics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In this era of climate change, rapid urbanization, and emerging social inequality, modern cities face serious challenges that could impact their sustainability and efficiency. Increased reliance on automobiles has led to intense traffic congestion and inadequate public transport services, as well as health and environmental consequences such as oil scarcity, air quality deterioration, and greenhouse gas emissions. Such negative impacts resulting from congestion and the unattractiveness of road environments may now be considered significant shortcomings for cities. Under this scope, sustainable transport is considered one of the main pillars of smart city development and should aim to mitigate the adverse effects of congestion, thus promoting more sustainable and people-centric urban centers.

In this respect, this Special Issue welcomes high-quality research papers on the planning and optimization of sustainable urban transportation. Key areas include electric mobility, public transport systems, active transportation, ridesharing, and autonomous mobility, as well as intelligent control methods aimed at reducing congestion and emissions.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Public transport planning;
  • Flexible, demand-responsive transit systems;
  • Micro-mobility systems;
  • Autonomous, shared mobility and Mobility as a Service system;
  • Connected vehicle applications;
  • Intelligent Transportation System applications.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Christina Iliopoulou
Dr. Konstantinos Kepaptsoglou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • transport systems
  • transportation networks
  • optimization
  • routing
  • electromobility
  • sustainable transportation
  • intelligent transportation systems

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 320 KiB  
Article
The Electric Vehicle Scheduling Problem for Buses in Networks with Multi-Port Charging Stations
by Matina L. Y. Chau, Diamanto Koutsompina and Konstantinos Gkiotsalitis
Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1305; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031305 - 03 Feb 2024
Viewed by 793
Abstract
As more and more cities try to reduce their CO2 emissions, public transport fleets are undergoing a transition from conventional to electric vehicles. To complete this shift, there is a need to build the required charging infrastructure. When the first electric buses [...] Read more.
As more and more cities try to reduce their CO2 emissions, public transport fleets are undergoing a transition from conventional to electric vehicles. To complete this shift, there is a need to build the required charging infrastructure. When the first electric buses were adopted, the charging stations were mostly built in the locations of large bus depots. However, in recent years, there has been a crowding problem in the charging stations resulting in queuing and unnecessary delays. In this study, we explore the potential of replacing single-port charging stations with multi-port charging stations that can serve multiple vehicles at once with a reduced charging rate. Because the charging rate reduces with the number of ports, we develop a mixed-integer linear program to determine the charging schedules of bus fleets in order to reduce the overall delays in the bus network. The novel formulation is tested in benchmark instances of various sizes demonstrating the improvement potential. Full article
25 pages, 17409 KiB  
Article
Integrating Cargo Bikes and Drones into Last-Mile Deliveries: Insights from Pilot Deliveries in Five Greek Cities
by Konstantinos Athanasopoulos, Ioannis Chatziioannou, Argyro-Maria Boutsi, Georgios Tsingenopoulos, Sofia Soile, Regina Chliverou, Zoe Petrakou, Efstathios Papanikolaou, Christos Karolemeas, Efthymia Kourmpa, Kalliopi Papadaki, Eleftheria Tzika, Charalabos Ioannidis, Chryssy Potsiou and Thanos Vlastos
Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1060; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031060 - 26 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1652
Abstract
Currently, there is a growing consensus that the use of more sustainable urban freight transportation has the potential to offer major energy and efficiency benefits which can be achieved through the appropriate combination of cargo bikes and the integration of drones into the [...] Read more.
Currently, there is a growing consensus that the use of more sustainable urban freight transportation has the potential to offer major energy and efficiency benefits which can be achieved through the appropriate combination of cargo bikes and the integration of drones into the urban logistics system. This study presents the results of a stepwise regression analysis that examines the role, benefits, and impact of electric vehicles such as e-bikes, cargo bikes, and drones for intermodal freight transportation in five Greek cities to support the green logistics paradigm. The results show that between routes of almost equal length, the most bicycle-friendly routes, such as routes along pedestrian areas or residential streets, should be avoided, as they reduce delivery speed and increase delivery costs in terms of energy and time expenditure. In addition, priority roads, which usually have higher traffic speeds and more trucks, are preferred by cyclists due to the quality of the road surface, even though the feeling of safety is lower on such roads. Finally, regarding drones, energy consumption is relatively low in the 0–5 mph and 6–10 mph wind speed ranges, indicating efficient energy use. In the 11–15 mph and 16–20 mph wind speed ranges, energy efficiency is significantly lower than the battery capacity, indicating that the cargo drone exhibits excessive energy consumption under these conditions. Full article
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27 pages, 3041 KiB  
Article
MaaS Implications in the Smart City: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach
by Iria Lopez-Carreiro, Andres Monzon and Elena Lopez
Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10832; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151410832 - 10 Jul 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1524
Abstract
Cities worldwide are calling for smart mobility strategies to tackle the negative externalities of their transport networks. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is expected to introduce a new mobility model that promotes smarter and more sustainable urban futures. Given the novelty of the [...] Read more.
Cities worldwide are calling for smart mobility strategies to tackle the negative externalities of their transport networks. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is expected to introduce a new mobility model that promotes smarter and more sustainable urban futures. Given the novelty of the concept, this paper explores the implications that might arise from the implementation of MaaS in today’s metropolises in relation to the six dimensions of smart cities: smart governance, smart economy, smart mobility, smart environment, smart people, and smart living. To this end, 42 semi-structured interviews with MaaS stakeholders were conducted in Madrid (Spain). Thematic analysis identified a set of 35 urban implications. The success of MaaS requires more than the mere deployment of technologies and must be supported by the reorganisation of institutional structures, the reform of the regulatory scenario, the stimulation of innovation-based entrepreneurship, the promotion of environmental awareness, the encouragement of cultural transition, and the consideration of the public sphere. Overall, valuable insights are identified for policymakers when designing MaaS. Assessment of multiple stakeholders’ perspectives enables a holistic understanding of these strategies and thus maximises their potential to address the limitations of our complex mobility systems in meeting urban sustainability goals. Full article
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