We estimate the maximum capability to reduce CO2 by substituting private car travel for e-bike. We use spatial microsimulation (population-synthesis) to simulate the adult population within every small area in England, taking account of area type and geodemographic circumstances of the population. By estimating for individuals the distance they are capable of travelling by e-bike and the extent to which they are capable of replacing private car travel, we find the upper limit on the capability to reduce CO2 by substituting car travel for e-bike use is 24.4 MTCO2 p.a. (per annum) in England. CO2 saving capability per person and per small area are highest (over 750 kg CO2 per person p.a.) for residents of rural areas and the rural urban fringe. e-bikes offer major conurbations more modest CO2 saving capability per person. We identify areas which are vulnerable to car related economic stress and also have high capability to replace car km with e-bikes, which if supported appropriately could contribute to equitable carbon reduction. Though capable of a very significant contribution to transport carbon reduction, other changes in technology and reduction in demand would also be necessary to reach zero emissions. Our results are directly relevant to policy actors internationally who require evidence on place-based decarbonisation capability, particularly where car dependence is high. The results highlight how context is important in any attempt to design policy for equitable carbon reduction both to influence discussion on what is possible, as well as practical identification of areas for targeted intervention. Digital indicators covering all zones in a country's geography such as this are also useful because of the rapid digitalisation of policy making. We provide code so that others can produce similar analyses in other countries
Technological approaches to carbon emission and air pollution data modelling consider where the issues are located and what is creating emissions. This paper argues that more focus should be paid to people-the drivers of vehicles or households burning fossil fuels ('Who') and the reasons for doing so at those times ('Why'). We applied insights from social psychology (social identity theory and social cognitive theory) to better understand and communicate how people's everyday activities are a cause of climate change and air pollution. A new method for citizen-focused source apportionment modelling and communication was developed in the ClairCity project and applied to travel data from Bristol, U.K. This approach enables understanding of the human dimension of vehicle use to improve policymaking, accounting for demographics (gender or age groups), socio-economic factors (income/car ownership) and motives for specific behaviours (e.g., commuting to work, leisure, shopping, etc.). Tailored communications for segmented in-groups were trialled, aiming to connect with group lived experiences and day-to-day behaviours. This citizen-centred approach aims to make groups more aware that 'people like me' create emissions, and equally, 'people like me' can take action to reduce emissions.
A recent study carried out by CREDS researchers at the University of Leeds has found that: • Electrically-assisted bicycles (e-bikes), if used to replace car travel, have the capability to cut car carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in England by up to 50% (about 30 million tonnes per year). • The greatest opportunities are in rural and sub-urban settings: city dwellers already have many low-carbon travel options, so the greatest impact would be on encouraging use outside urban areas. • There is scope for e-bikes to help people who are most affected by rising transport costs.
Introduction: Personal exposure to elevated vehicle exhaust and non-exhaust emissions at urban roadside leads to carcinogenic health effects, respiratory illness and nervous system disorders. In this paper, an attempt has been made to investigate the exhaust and non-exhaust emissions emitted from selected roads in Delhi city. Methods: Based on the vehicular density per hour and speed, three categories of roads have been considered in the present study: (a) low density road (<= 1000 vehicles/hour, V >= 10 m/s); (b) medium density road ( > 1000 vehicles/hour but <= 2000 vehicles/hour, V >= 7.5 m/s < 10 m/s); and (c) high density road (> 2000 vehicles/hour, V < 7.5 m/s). At the selected roads, real-world exhaust emissions were measured using AVL DiTEST 1000 analyser. The silt load measurements were also carried out as per EPA AP -42 methodology at the selected roads. Results: Results indicated real-world NO exhaust emissions of 0.5 g/m(3) (2.03 g/km) on high -density roads and 0.23 g/m3 (0.67 g/km) on low and medium density roads. These values were significantly higher than the Bharat Standard (BS) IV (0.25 g/km). The silt load on the different types of roads indicated 3, 25 and 44 g/m(2) -day dust deposition on, low, medium and high-density road, respectively. PM2.5 and PMa, emission rates were measured using US -EPA AP-42 methodology and were found to be least at low-density roads with values of 0.54 and 2.22 g/VKT (VKT -Vehicle Kilometer Travelled) respectively, and highest for high density roads with values of 12.40 and 51.25 g/VKT respectively. Conclusion: The present study reveals that both tailpipe (exhaust) and resuspend able road dust (non-exhaust) emissions contributes significantly and deteriorates local air quality. Although there exists emission standards, but there are no enforced regulations for non-exhaust emissions (resuspension of road dust). Hence, there is need to regulate non-exhaust emissions on urban roads.
The continued failure to put transport on a robust low carbon transition pathway calls for new approaches in policy and research. In studies of transport systems and patterns of mobility, established approaches to data collection, analysis and subsequent policy design have focused on capturing ‘typical’ conditions rather than identifying the potential for substantive change. This focus on the apparent aggregate stability of the transport regime has reproduced a belief in policy circles that our current travel patterns are largely fixed and therefore very difficult to alter, which in turn has resulted in an over reliance on implausible assumptions about the carbon reductions that can be achieved through technological improvements such as low emission vehicles.This paper argues that there is potentially much greater adaptive capacity in the mobility system than currently allowed for. It illustrates this potential through the investigation of actual adaptations made during a set of specific ‘disruptive’ events. The paper concludes by suggesting that we can go further in reducing the demand for travel if we broaden the scope of intervention to take a wider view of when and how mobility matters to participation in activities across the population. This research pre-dates the Covid-19 pandemic but should help inform the policy responses in a period where a step-wise return to a ‘new normal’ is enacted.
The negative impacts of excessive car use are well documented and this illustrates the need to reduce car use. Mode shift from car use to walking, cycling and e-bike use is one of many possible solutions, addressing for some locations the multiple negative impacts of car use including reduction in transport energy demand. Walking is the most sustainable and equitable travel mode. Cycle use is also sustainable and may be provided equitably. E-Bikes are a smart technology often overlooked due to the hype around e-cars, and are potentially a sustainable and more equitable means of reducing transport energy demand. Some useful work has investigated the potential for emissions reduction by mode shift though a number research opportunities remain. Until recently information at fine spatial scales was not available on either total car use nor the distance individuals in these same small areas were capable of travelling by walking, cycling and e-bike use. This paper brings these two data sets together. This allows production of novel spatial indicators. – Firstly, an estimate of the potential car travel distance which may be transferred to walking, cycling and e-bike use. – Secondly, indicators of the energy reduction potential of transfer of distance travelled from car to walking, cycling and e-bike use are produced and described. The utility of these indicators is to provide fine scale information on the potential for transport energy demand reduction. Quantifying the benefits of reducing car based travel demand at the local scale is useful to policy makers to identify specific locations where large reductions in emissions per person may be achieved by shift to active modes, and it can be used to target resources and policy interventions. The method is applied to a case study in the UK. Maps and other visualisations are shown which illustrate the ease of interpretation of results for policy makers.
Changing mobility behaviour towards activities and actions that have a less detrimental impact on the environment, public health and society is an objective of transport policy jurisdictions globally. In line with a burgeoning body of research examining behaviour and social change, this paper explores the governmental systems that influence mobility behaviours through a social practice lens. This paper blends two social practice theoretical models, the '3-Elements Model' and 'Systems of Provision', as a means of understanding the delivery of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), a central government grant scheme for English local authorities. We examine how the meanings, materials and competences within the practices of bid writing by local authorities and scheme selection by government influenced the distribution of funding to local authorities. The research starts from the principle that, where funding is provided by central government, in the case of this research that of the UK, an opportunity is created for mobility practices to change. The significance of funding is not easily theorised by the 3-Elements model but is more helpfully explained when that model is blended with the wider Systems of Provision model to create a model of practice ecology. Our theorisation allows fora rigorous exploration of the 'practice scaffolding' which shapes how people travel. Policymakers are recommended to consider a practice ecology approach when developing mobility management schemes to tackle air quality, climate change and obesity issues more effectively. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This paper presents unique spatial analyses identifying substantial discrepancies in traffic-related emissions generation and exposure by socioeconomic and demographic groups. It demonstrates a compelling environmental and social injustice narrative with strong policy implications for the UK and beyond. In the first instance, this research presents a decadal update for England and Wales to Mitchell and Dorling's 2003 analysis of environmental justice in the UK. Using 2011 UK Government pollution and emissions data with 2011 UK Census socioeconomic and demographic data based on small area census geographies, this paper demonstrates a stronger relationship between age, poverty, road NOx emissions and exposure to NO2 concentrations. Areas with the highest proportions of under-fives and young adults, and poorer households, have the highest concentrations of traffic-related pollution. In addition, exclusive access to UK annual vehicle safety inspection records ('MOT' tests) allowed annual private vehicle NOx emissions to be spatially attributed to registered keepers. Areal analysis against Census-based socioeconomic characteristics identified that households in the poorest areas emit the least NOx and PM, whilst the least poor areas emitted the highest, per km, vehicle emissions per household through having higher vehicle ownership, owning more diesel vehicles and driving further. In conclusion, the analysis indicates that, despite more than a decade of air quality policy, environmental injustice of air pollution exposure has worsened. New evidence regarding the responsibility for generation of road traffic emissions provides a clear focus for policy development and targeted implementation.
In high-motorisation, car-dependent countries, transport affordability is intimately linked to the price of oil derived motor fuels, which may become increasingly volatile in the future due to global oil price movements and environmental taxation. The negative impacts of fuel price spikes in terms of increased household expenditure and economic stress are unevenly spatially and socially distributed. Previous research has found that vulnerability to fuel price increases is higher in peripheral, peri-urban and rural areas, and that low income tends to be co-located with high car dependence and low vehicle fuel efficiency, with a compounding effect on vulnerability. The goal of this article is to test these hypotheses for England, providing new evidence on spatial patterns of vulnerability to fuel price increases at the small-area level. We propose a composite vulnerability indicator combining data on income, accessibility, vehicle inspection and vehicle registration for 2011. Within English city-regions, we find little evidence of the socially regressive patterns previously identified in the literature. This is explained by the persistent concentration of poverty in urban cores, as well as by the poor fuel economy of the vehicle fleet in wealthier areas, due to the prevalence of powerful vehicles there. On the other hand, our analysis suggests that the impacts of fuel price increases would be very unequal between city-regions, as the least sensitive metropolitan area (Greater London) is also characterised by high levels of adaptive capacity. We conclude by setting out an agenda for future research on spatial vulnerability to fuel price increases.
There is a growing body of international evidence available that shows highway construction fails to solve issues of congestion and improvements to the local economy. There is also evidence that due to changes of land use and expectations of being able to travel from the land opened for development that traffic is induced to the highway network. Alternative methods of managing travel demand; such has Voluntary Travel Behaviour Change (VTBC) initiatives have been delivered internationally. A significant VTBC scheme, called the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF), was delivered in the United Kingdom between 2011 and 2015. This paper focuses on the people who delivered these initiatives, rather than the individuals required to change their behaviour. This is to understand how transport planners' views influence the type of VTBC initiatives that were delivered. The study included a survey of 69 bid managers for LSTF projects and interviews with 17 council officers. The survey found that 80% transport planning officers understood the concept of induced traffic compared to just 10% of the wider population. It was also evident that the sample group was a homogenous group, where their views on issues such as climate change, congestion and the factors that influence how we travel were remarkably similar. The findings show that despite the evidence that highway construction does not provide a solution to travel demand, the decisions about which schemes are funded remain with non-transport experts, such as government ministers and local politicians, and this invariably leads to highway 'solutions' being chosen which limit the potential success of any VTBC initiative to create long-term change to travel behaviour.
This paper presents a new perspective on assessing the financial impacts of private car usage in England and Wales using novel datasets to explore implications of motoring costs (principally Vehicle Excise Duty and road fuel costs) for households as part of the overall costs of their energy budget. Using data from an enhanced version of the Department for Transport 'MOT' vehicle test record database, combined with data on domestic gas and electricity consumption from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (formerly the Department of Energy and Climate Change), patterns of car usage and consequent energy consumption are investigated, and the costs of Vehicle Excise Duty and road fuel examined as a proportion of total expenditure on household direct energy consumption. Through the use of these new datasets it is possible to analyse how these vary spatially and in relation to levels of median income. The findings indicate that motoring costs are strongly regressive, with lower income areas, especially in rural locations, spending around twice as much of their income on motoring costs as the highest income areas.
Claims about the benefits of heating controls are often biased, unsubstantiated, misleading, or incorrect. This paper presents a systematic and critical international review of the evidence for the energy saving, cost effectiveness and usability of heating controls. The focus is domestic, low-pressure hot water heating systems in temperate climates. Eleven different types of standard, advanced and smart controls are assessed plus five components and features that add smart functionality. The review retrieved over 2400 documents from on-line databases and other sources. Screening criteria and quality assurance scoring identified just 67 items, mainly from the UK and USA, which appeared to contain relevant evidence. This evidence was derived from computer modelling, field trials and full-scale experiments, and for usability, from expert evaluations and controlled assessments. The evidence was synthesised and its quality classified as very low, low, moderate or high using the GRADE system which is more commonly applied in evidence-based medicine. The energy savings of most heating controls depends strongly on whether the heating system is operated with a continuous or periodic heating pattern, as well as on the energy efficiency of the dwelling and the severity of the climate. For most control types, the quality of the evidence for energy savings was low, very low or non-existent. However, there wasmoderate quality evidence that, when appropriately commissioned, zonal controllers, which heat individual spaces to different temperatures at different times, could save energy compared to whole-house controllers, and that low-cost systems of this type could be cost-effective. There wasmoderate quality evidence that smart thermostats do not save energy compared to standard thermostats and programmers and may, in fact, increase energy demand. The usability studies focussed on general heating controls and programmable thermostats and provided high quality evidence that heating controls are difficult to use, especially by older people. However, no studies were uncovered that quantified the consequent energy penalty. There was no high quality evidence about the impact on energy demand of any of the heating controls studied, mainly because there have been no well-founded, large-scale, multi-disciplinary, multi-year field trials.
The leading source of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations in Bristol, United Kingdom is road transport, and Bristol exceeds the annual mean national air quality objective of 40 µg/m 3 for NO2 in many locations around the city.Understanding the reasons for residents' modal choice is an important element in managing air quality in the city.The ClairCity Project approach provides insight into how to reduce overall transport demand and identify incentives that will be effective in creating modal switch away from higher polluting private motorised vehicles.From the ClairCity Project survey subset of commuters (n=442), 45% of respondents used cars or vans at least occasionally for their journey to work, with 28% of the total number of commuters relying exclusively on private motorised transport.The majority of these car users (65.6%) said they would prefer not to travel by car to work in the future.Their responses showed a mix of negative perceptions of public transport, geography and health as key motivations.Family responsibilities, lack of safe cycling and walking spaces, poor health and disability, distance, requirements to transport goods as well as themselves and the need for flexibility were all given as barriers to modal switching.This suggests that for car commuters, well-targeted policy interventions could provide practical alternatives that would appeal to those who currently rely on private motorised transport.Understanding citizens' perceptions, behaviours and activities is a key element in decision-making to reduce transport related air quality emissions and concentrations.
Claims about the benefits of heating controls are often biased, unsubstantiated, misleading, or incorrect. This paper presents a systematic and critical international review of the evidence for the energy saving, cost effectiveness and usability of heating controls. The focus is domestic, low-pressure hot water heating systems in temperate climates. Eleven different types of standard, advanced and smart controls are assessed plus five components and features that add smart functionality.
This paper critically reviews United Kingdom (UK) air quality policy in relation to European and Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) responsibilities over the last 20 years. The arguments articulated in this paper highlight the gulf between national and local air quality management in the UK, including differences in legislation, legal responsibilities, scales of operation, monitoring and modelling requirements, exceedence reporting and action planning. It is argued that local authorities cannot be held responsible for the UK's failure to achieve the European Union (EU) nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limit values due to fundamental differences between local government responsibilities under LAQM and the UK compliance assessment reporting to the EU. Furthermore, unambitious and counterproductive national policies and the failure of EU light-duty vehicle type approval tests and Euro standards to reduce real-world emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) are the main reasons for continued NO2 limit value exceedences. This failure of EU and national air quality policies has effectively undermined local authority action to improve local air quality, resulting in delays in achieving the standards, wasted resources at local and national levels, and, ultimately, unnecessary loss of life and increased morbidity in the UK population. This paper concludes that the current emphasis that the UK government is placing on implementation of Clean Air Zones (CAZs) to achieve the Ambient Air Quality Directive (2008/50/EC) (AAQD), and avoid substantial fines imposed by the European Court of Justice (CJEU), is flawed. Based on the arguments presented in this paper, a series of recommendations is proposed for the European Union, the UK government, devolved administrations and local authorities.
This presentation provides a high-level assessment of air pollution and its management viewed through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It contains • a short overview of the sparse literature, • an assessment of the impact of air pollution as a barrier to achieving the SDGs • an assessment of the enabling contribution of air quality management. • concluding observations and a call for further research.
Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) is facing serious challenges linked to worrying levels of air pollution (mainly NO2, PM10 and PM2.5).The CADTIME prject (Clean Air in Delhi through Implementation, Mitigation and Engagement) aims to understand what is required to deliver significant reductions in levels of air pollution.This paper presents the results of the first stage of the project: it firstly contextualises the challenges of air quality management in Delhi within the broader evolution of environmental policies and governance in India, with particular consideration to the tensions between environmental protection and the country's development objectives.Secondly, it sets out how CADTIME will combine multiple source qualitative and quantitative data to develop an air quality action plan and an implementation strategy.In particular, through two workshops with local and national experts and stakeholders, and two rounds of focus groups with citizens of Delhi we will contrast stakeholders' priorities and preferences for existing and potential solutions to air pollution with citizens' lived experiences, thus assessing the political/technical feasibility and public acceptability of current and proposed measures.Furthermore, we will complement the primary qualitative data with a critical review examining the successes and failures of UK and European policies to draw lessons that can be relevant for Delhi and to avoid ineffective policies and achieve cost-effective solutions for the city in the shortest possible time.
Air pollution has as significant impact on the health of European citizens, particularly in urban areas, and was responsible for more than 400,000 premature deaths in Europe in 2014.It is within our cities where this public health impact is most acute as high population densities and high ambient concentrations result in an increased risk of exposure.This health impact is further exacerbated as air pollution interacts with other social determinants of health creating a disproportionate risk and burden.Traditional top-down government policy development and consultation, married with a very technocentric view of air pollution sources and solutions, has resulted in a general apathy among citizens towards the problem of air pollution and subsequently a lack of ownership of the solutions.The ClairCity Project aims to create a major shift in public understanding towards the causes of poor air quality, inviting citizens to give their opinions on air pollution and carbon reduction policies to shape the cities of the future.By putting citizens' behaviour and activities at the heart of policy making for air quality and carbon management, ClairCity has utilised a suite of innovative toolkits for enhanced quantification and citizen engagement (such as surveys, workshops, online games and apps) to assess the public acceptability of specific policies and also to enable a bottom-up, citizen-led scenario creation process whereby citizens are empowered to visualise clean, low carbon, healthy futures for their city.
In 2003, Mitchell and Dorling undertook the first national level environmental justice analysis of air quality in Britain and established that there were clear inequalities in exposure to air pollution based on demography, poverty and car ownership. This paper updates and improves on their work looking at relationships between emissions and exposure a decade later. Using 2011 pollution data (NO2 concentrations and NOx emissions from road transport) in combination with socio-economic and demographic data from the UK Census, we present analyses of patterns of exposure at the level of small area census units. Then, using an enhanced version of the UK Department for Transport’s annual vehicle safety inspection records, we spatially attribute the annual NOx emissions for private motor vehicles to the location of each vehicle’s registered keeper. From this, it is possible to identify who are the highest emitters of traffic related pollution and to explore the relationships between responsibility for causing emissions and exposure to pollution. The research focuses on England and Wales and finds that despite a decade of efforts to reduce air pollution, significant inequalities still characterise exposure. Young children and adults, and households in poverty are much more likely to suffer from the effects of traffic than older people and more affluent households. Furthermore, it is these more affluent households that contribute most to traffic pollution through owning the most vehicles and generating the highest emissions.