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Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Transportation Systems

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 4606

Special Issue Editors

Department of Engineering, University of Sannio, 82100 Benevento, Italy
Interests: intelligent transportation systems; artificial intelligence techniques for transportation planning; optimization and operations research models for transportation and logistics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Civil, Environmental, Building Engineering and Chemistry, Polytechnic University of Bari, Bari, Italy
Interests: sustainable mobility; logistics; vehicle routing problem; transportation network design; transportation optimization; operational research

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The rapid changes in society of the modern era are producing even more challenging goals for transport systems. In the last decade, most governments worldwide have been planning heavy investments to boost the deployment of sustainable mobility solutions for passengers and goods, which have been accelerated by the new requirements induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as well-known, severe congestion, pollution, efficiency, and safety still represent unbearable issues that have arisen in our transportation systems, despite the efforts and continuous scientific research in these fields.

Among the new needs raised by the pandemic, the sharing and interoperability of existing and new transportation systems became one of the main challenges in this area. In this context, a proper combination of emerging technologies with public and/or shared transportation will represent a key success factor in improving transport sustainability.

This Special Issue is devoted to collecting papers focusing on novel models and methods as the base of emerging technologies for sustainable transportation. We aim to gather significant contributions that cover almost all the research fields and subjects involved in sustainable transportation development and deployment, such as the followings:

  • MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) and LaaS (Logistics-as-a-Service);
  • Intelligent Transportation Systems for shared mobility;
  • Automated public transport systems;
  • Urban transit network optimization;
  • Traffic safety and security;
  • Low-emission mobility;
  • Energy-efficient freight transportation;
  • LUTI models for sustainable urban planning.

Original contributions in this context, but not limited to the previously suggested subjects, also including real test cases and review papers, are strongly encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Mario Marinelli
Dr. Aleksandra Colovic
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

  • sustainable mobility
  • shared mobility
  • public transport
  • transport optimization
  • transport modelling
  • travel behaviour
  • traffic safety
  • fuel consumption and emissions
  • smart mobility
  • intelligent transportation systems

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 2095 KiB  
Article
A Method to Determine an Equity Score for Transportation Systems in the Cities
by Navid Nadimi, Rosalia Camporeale, Mostafa Khaleghi, Mohamadreza Haghani, Abbas Sheykhfard and Khaled Shaaban
Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 5818; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075818 - 27 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1440
Abstract
Transportation equity is vital for the fulfillment of citizens’ activities. To make better decisions for transportation planning, it is appropriate to have a method to evaluate each mode and assign an equity score to it. This paper aims to propose a method to [...] Read more.
Transportation equity is vital for the fulfillment of citizens’ activities. To make better decisions for transportation planning, it is appropriate to have a method to evaluate each mode and assign an equity score to it. This paper aims to propose a method to assess the level of equity using different transportation modes in each zone of a city. Here, the equity level takes into account on one side the proportion between the frequency of long and short-distance trips, the volume-to-capacity ratio of streets, the air quality, and the parking availability. On the other side, the ratio of costs associated with using passenger cars, the average income of the residents, and transit and cycling infrastructure quality is used in a zone of a city. In this regard, at first, indicators are considered to assess the condition of buses, cycling, and passenger cars. Then, the Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) is used to determine the level of equity for each mode. The method has been applied to regular buses, cycling, and passenger cars in Kerman, Iran, as a case study. The results indicate a significant difference between the equity levels perceived by citizens and the performed calculations. The citizens’ perceptions about the equity of regular buses and cycling seem to be more pessimistic than what the FIS model shows. Based on the model outputs, more restrictions must be established about using passenger cars in most of the zones. Nevertheless, in this regard, citizens have stated that the current situation is fair. We believe this method can be a helpful way to quantitatively assess the equity level of transportation systems in each zone. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Transportation Systems)
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17 pages, 3665 KiB  
Article
Effects of Data Characteristics on Bus Travel Time Prediction: A Systematic Study
by Hima Shaji, Lelitha Vanajakshi and Arun Tangirala
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 4731; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064731 - 07 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1167
Abstract
The prediction of bus travel time with accuracy is a significant step toward improving the quality of public transportation. Drawing meaningful inferences from the data and using these to aid in prediction tasks is always an area of interest. Earlier studies predicted bus [...] Read more.
The prediction of bus travel time with accuracy is a significant step toward improving the quality of public transportation. Drawing meaningful inferences from the data and using these to aid in prediction tasks is always an area of interest. Earlier studies predicted bus travel times by identifying significant regressors, which were identified based on chronological factors. However, travel time patterns may vary depending on time and location. A related question is whether the prediction accuracy can be improved with the choice of input variables. The present study analyzes this question systematically by presenting the input data in different ways to the prediction algorithm. The prediction accuracy increased when the dataset was grouped, and separate models were trained on them, the highest accurate case being the one where the data-derived clusters were considered. This demonstrates that understanding patterns and groups within the dataset helps in improving prediction accuracy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Transportation Systems)
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11 pages, 2491 KiB  
Article
A Simplified Framework for the Equity-Based Spatial Assessment of Alternative Public Transport Networks
by Nadia Giuffrida, Mario Binetti, Salvatore Viscio and Michele Ottomanelli
Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16606; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416606 - 12 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1283
Abstract
Nowadays, approximately 75% of the European population lives in urban areas, and these figures are expected to grow in future. The consequent expansion of cities means that the population might locate its residence far from daily facilities, generating a so-called transport social need. [...] Read more.
Nowadays, approximately 75% of the European population lives in urban areas, and these figures are expected to grow in future. The consequent expansion of cities means that the population might locate its residence far from daily facilities, generating a so-called transport social need. The possibility to easily reach education, health, recreation, and job opportunities is a key factor in fostering and guaranteeing the social inclusion of people in society. Spatial planning plays a fundamental role in filling the gap between people residing in the center and those living in the suburbs. In particular, public transport planning should ensure access to essential services, providing at least the same opportunities as private vehicles. In this context, this study presents a simplified quantitative method to consider equity in transit network design and assessment, considering horizontal and vertical indicators based on the socio-demographic characteristics of a population and the accessibility to main opportunities. The validity of the indicators is tested by applying them to a case study located in the Apulia region (Italy). The approach could be considered a basis for more complex transport-network design optimization oriented to social inclusion in urban areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Transportation Systems)
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