Posts in category English
MT-ITS conference: Identifying potential use of emerging neighbourhood mobility hubs using behavioural modelling
Neighbourhood mobility hubs may play an important role in mitigating the impact of passenger cars on climate change and urban public space. As a relatively new concept, academic research on the user potential of neighbourhood mobility hubs is so far limited. This research aims to identify which user groups are likely to adopt services offered by a neighbourhood mobility hub. A survey was distributed in the Netherlands (N=298) and an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and a Latent Class Cluster Analysis (LCCA) were executed. Four distinctive groups of intended users were uncovered. Two of the clusters have intentions to use neighbourhood mobility hubs. The other two identified clusters do not (yet) intend to use neighbourhood mobility hubs. The clusters indicate that people who currently already travel more by sustainable modes (train or (e-)bicycle) are more likely to be adopters of neighbourhood mobility hubs than the traditional car users. In practice, this may make the positive effect of hubs more limited than anticipated or even increase car use. However it could also facilitate those travelling sustainable to do so for longer as additional shared modes become available to them via hubs. Limitations and directions for further research are discussed.
Read the paper of Van der Meer et al. (2023) HERE
Find the presentation of MT-ITS (2023) in Nice HERE
The full research report is available HERE
More insights into mobility hubs and shared mobility:
10 dimensions of transport related social exclusion
Transport Related Social Exclusion (TRSE) looks at how people who are socially disadvantaged for reasons such as employment status, income, age, or ability, can face limitations in their ability to access transportation services. As income is only one of these factors, people can experience TRSE without having a low income (Yigitcanlar et al., 2018). Rather, social exclusion is defined by an exclusion from economic life, social services, civic life, and social networks (Spoor, 2013). TRSE looks at how elements of the transportation system contribute to this exclusion (Yigitcanlar et al., 2018).
This figure provides an overview of 10 dimensions of Transport Related Social Exclusion, further explained (incl. references) in the position paper of Bruno and Van Oort (2023).
CO2 Barometer
In this PhD project by Marko Kapetanović, an integrated model for dynamic monitoring and prediction of CO2 emissions of regional railway services is developed, following a life-cycle approach. The project is performed in close cooperation with Arriva, the largest regional railway undertaking in the Netherlands. Possibilities and measures to improve the energy efficiency of railway operation and to reduce the total emissions on the network are identified and assessed, including alternative propulsion systems such as hybrid, plug-in hybrid, fuel cell-electric and battery electric, together with a range of energy carriers. Analyzed fuels and energy carriers include LNG, first and second generation biofuels, hydrogen and electricity, with examined various alternative production pathways. Check the main output of this project below.
Short video explaining the project and main results
Korte video over het project en resultaten (in Dutch)
Doctoral Thesis
Improving Environmental Sustainability of Regional Railway Services (TU Delft, 2023)
Papers
Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of traction alternatives for regional railways (Energy Conversion and Management 2024)
Energy model of a fuel cell hybrid-electric regional train in passenger transport service and vehicle-to-grid applications (Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management 2023)
Life Cycle Assessment of Alternative Traction Options for Non Electrified Regional
Railway Lines (World Congress on Railway Research (WCRR) 2022)
Optimal network electrification plan for operation of battery electric multiple unit regional trains (TRISTAN XI 2022)
Analysis of hydrogen powered propulsion system alternatives for diesel electric
regional trains (Journal of Rail Transport Planning & Management 2022)
Reducing fuel consumption and related emissions through optimal sizing of energy storage systems for diesel-electric trains (Applied Energy 2021)
Analysis of Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid Alternative Propulsion Systems for Regional Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit Trains (Energies 2021)
Sustainability of Railway Passenger Services: A Review of Aspects, Issues, Contributions and Challenges of Life Cycle Emissions ( RailNorrköping 2019)
Presentations
Assessment of Alternative Traction Options for Non Electrified Regional
Railway Lines (World Congress on Railway Research (WCRR) 2022)
Optimal network electrification plan for operation of battery electric multiple unit regional trains (TRISTAN XI 2022)
Improving Sustainability of Regional Railway Services in the Netherlands (Rail Infra Forum, RailTech 2023)
Vehicle-to-Grid Concept for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid-Electric Regional Trains (RailBelgrade 2023)
Other
How can railways phase out diesel from their operations? (RailTech Digital Magazine | Sustainable Rolling Stock)
Reducing rail emissions: Shifting to diesel alternatives (Webinar, RailTech 2022)
Improving Environmental Sustainability of Regional Railway Services in the Netherlands (Rail Infra Forum, RailTech 2023)
PhD project: Robust train trajectory optimization
In cooperation with the Dutch Railways (NS), Alex Cunillera works in this PhD research on robust train trajectory optimization. Even two trains of the same model running on the same line show significant differences in their dynamics. This might be due to different passenger loads, weather, fault history, driving style of the train driver, etc. Moreover, there are uncertainties in the track data that may also have a strong influence on the train operation. This research focuses on determining the uncertainties and stochastics of these variations and developing methods to compute robust train trajectories that optimize the energy consumption and minimize delays in the presence of the mentioned variations.
Project contributions (ongoing):
Papers:
Train motion model calibration: research agenda and practical recommendations (ITSC 2022)
Presentations:
Real-time train motion parameter estimation using an Unscented Kalman Filter (RailBeijing 2021)
Train motion model calibration: research agenda and practical recommendations (ITSC 2022)
Inclusief openbaar vervoer, van theorie naar praktijk
Hoewel de theorieën over rechtvaardige mobiliteit niet nieuw zijn, missen we nog wel kennis over de implicaties en toepassing. Monica van Luven van het Smart Public Transport Lab deed bij de Vervoerregio Amsterdam onderzoek. “We staan nog aan het begin van goede inbedding van inclusieve mobiliteit in onze beleidscyclus en moeten nog verschillende belangrijke keuzes maken.”
Lees HIER het hele onderzoek
Het 3-jarige onderzoek van TU Delft en Vervoerregio over inclusieve mobiliteit vind je HIER
Ons onderzoek naar de digitale kloof i.s.m. het Kennisinstituut voor Mobiliteitsbeleid vind je HIER
Covid impacts on train travel behaviour
Delft University of Technology and the Dutch railways (NS) started a joint, longitudinal research in April 2020 on Covid impacts on train passenger behaviour. During the pandemic, 7 surveys in different stages (15,000-45,000 participants each) were held to learn about the impacts and expectations. The main results are presented in an infographic.
Find the high resolution infographic HERE. Also available in DUTCH
Find the detailed results in these scientific papers:
Transportion research-Part A: Teleworking during COVID-19 in the Netherlands: Understanding behaviour, attitudes, and future intentions of train travellers
Bivec Transport Days: Train traveller behaviour during and after Covid: insights of a
longitudinal survey of Dutch train passengers
Transport Research Procedia: Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on the travel behavior of train
travelers in the Netherlands
Find other output such as reports, presentations and media articles
Micromobility and public transport
Following technological and societal developments, new modes and services arrive in our cities. Micromobility solutions, such as shared (e-)bikes and –scooters, are adding new opportunities for individuals, but what their (potential) contribution is to societal objectives such as sustainability, land use and inclusiveness, is not yet known. In order to gain this knowledge and optimize the mobility mix, the Smart Public Transport Lab investigates the demand and supply impacts and interaction of micromobility, including the interaction with public transport. In this infographic the main, recent results of the ongoing research are summarized.
Find more results and details in the related papers and theses:
1. Ma et al. (2020): Bike-sharing systems’ impact on modal shift: A case study in Delft, the Netherlands
2. Van Marsbergen et al. (2022): Exploring the role of bicycle sharing programs in relation to urban transit
3. Alberts (2021): Standing e-scooters, what to expect: micro-mobility with micro effects?
4. Van Kuijk et al. (2022): Preferences for shared modes of local public transport users in the last mile
5. Limburg (2021): Potential for sustainable mode usage amongst car users in mid-sized cities
6. Montes et al. (2023): Studying mode choice in multimodal networks including shared modes
7. Stam et al. (2021): Travellers’ preferences towards existing and emerging means of first/last mile transport: a case study for the Almere centrum railway station in the Netherlands
8. Geržinič et al. (2022): Potential of on-demand services for urban travel
9. Torabi et al. (2022): Passengers preferences for using emerging modes as first/last mile transport to and from a multimodal hub case study Delft Campus railway station
European Transport Conference 2022, Milano
The European Transport Conference (ETC) is taking place this week, September 7-9 2022 in Milano, Italy.
The following Smart PT Lab contributions will be presented:
Change in train travelling behaviour during and after Covid-19 due to anxiety (Presentation and research report)
G.B. Hafsteinsdottir, R. van der Knaap, N. van Oort, M. de Bruyn, M. van Hagen.
Shared micromobility and public transport integration. A mode choice study using stated
preference data (Presentation and research report)
A. Montes Rojas, N. Geržinic, W. Veeneman, N. van Oort, S. Hoogendoorn,.
Understanding the whole station choice concept by cyclists (Presentation and research report)
A Barneveld, R Huisman, N. van Oort.
The full program can be found here:
Podcast Mobility Innovators: Human-centered design for Smart Public Transport
Technology and New mobility are reshaping urban transportation in cities. Human-centric design is key to the quality of life in cities, putting people at the heart of urban transport planning. All stakeholders, including academia, will play a key role to reshape the future of mobility.
Listen to the podcast of Mobility Innovators with Niels van Oort:
04:00 Service reliability in public transport
07:40 About Smart Public Transport Lab at Delft University
14:00 How to run LRT system in the cities efficiently
20:20 Digital Inequality in Transport Services
28:50 Tesla predication on Self Driving Vehicles
34:50 MaaS from the passengers’ perspective
38:30 First & Last miles connectivity
44:54 Use of Big Data to improve services
49:05 Role of academia in the new world
Find more details about the discussed topics here:
Digital inequality (literature review paper)
Service reliability (podcast and papers)
5E model of wider impacts of public transport (book chapter 6, page 112-)
Potential of on-demand services for urban travel (Flex-OV)
On-demand mobility services are promising to revolutionise urban travel, but preliminary studies are showing that they may actually increase the total vehicle miles travelled, thereby worsening road congestion in cities. In this study, we assess the demand for on-demand mobility services in urban areas,using a stated preference survey, to understand the potential impact of introducing on-demand services on the current modal split. The survey was carried out in the Netherlands and offered respondents a choice between bike, car, public transport and on-demand services. 1,063 valid responses are analysed with a multinomial logit and a latent class choice model. By means of the latter, we uncover four distinctive groups of travellers based on the observed choice behaviour. The majority of the sample (55%) are avid cyclists and do not see on-demand mobility as an alternative for making urban trips. Two classes (27% and 9% of the sample) would potentially use on-demand services: the former is fairly timesensitive and would thus use on-demand service if they were sufficiently fast. The latter class however is highly cost-sensitive, and would therefore use on-demand mobility primarily if it is cheap. The fourth class (9%) shows very limited potential for using on-demand services.
Read the paper by Nejc Geržinič HERE