Estimación del impacto ambiental y social de los nuevos servicios de movilidad

El transporte es fuente de numerosas externalidades negativas, como los accidentes de tráfico, la congestión en las zonas urbanas y la falta de calidad del aire. El transporte también es un sector que contribuye sustancialmente a la crisis climática con más del 16% de las emisiones globales de gases de efecto invernadero como resultado de las actividades de transporte. Muchos creen que la introducción de nuevos servicios de movilidad podría ayudar a reducir esas externalidades. Sin embargo, con cada introducción de un nuevo servicio de movilidad podemos observar factores que podrían contribuir negativamente a la sostenibilidad del sistema de transporte: una cadena de cambios de comportamiento causados por la introducción de posibilidades completamente nuevas. El objetivo de esta tesis es investigar cómo los nuevos servicios de movilidad, habilitados por la electrificación, la conectividad y la automatización, podrían impactar en las externalidades causadas por el transporte. En particular, el objetivo es desarrollar y validar un marco de modelado capaz de capturar la complejidad del sistema de transporte y aplicarlo para evaluar el impacto potencial de los vehículos automatizados.Transport is a source of numerous negative externalities, such as road accidents, congestion in urban areas and lacking air quality. Transport is also a sector substantially contributing to climate crisis with more than 16% of global greenhouse gas emissions being a result of transport activities. Many believe that the introduction of new mobility services could help reduce those externalities. However, with each introduction of a new mobility service we can observe factors that could negatively contribute to the sustainability of the transport system – a chain of behavioural changes caused by introduction of entirely new possibilities. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the new mobility services, enabled by electrification, connectivity and automation, could impact the externalities caused by transport. In particular the objective is to develop and validate a modelling framework able to capture the complexity of the transport system and to apply it to assess the potential impact of automated vehicles.This work was realised with the collaboration of the European Commission Joint Research Centre under the Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Agreement N035297. Moreover, this research has been partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the project: AUTONOMOUS – InnovAtive Urban and Transport planning tOols for the implementation of New mObility systeMs based On aUtonomouS driving”, 2020-2023, ERDF (EU) (PID2019-110355RB-I00)

Feasibility and market assessment for EV scheduling and aggregation in European countries.

Energy system has been going through a revolutionary transformation over the past years. The rising adoption of unpredictable, decentralised renewable energy sources is said to accelerate in the next decades. Variable renewable electricity production in many different locations, can often lead to unexpected and unsought for deviations of gird parameters: frequency and voltage. unsought for devi ations of gird parameters: frequency and voltage, or even congestion of the system. Thus, decentralised electricity system would have a surpassing need of flexibility of the system, which could assure proper regulation of frequency and voltage when needed. The consumption of electricity is also viable and not utterly predictable. To avoid the congestion of electrical grid the demand side response concept has been sprouting. One of the new concepts of demand side response measures is aggregation. Aggregated load regulation envisions gathering and managing numerous small loads, in a way that could stop deviations of frequency and voltage in the system or avoid congestion , without bringing any inconveniences for the owner of the load. EVs while charging, are t hose loads that are often mentioned as aggragatable. With the emerge of massive adoption of Electric Vehicle, secondary uses of it are being questioned. One of them is the idea of balancing the ever changing frequency and voltage in the grid with usage of flexibility created by creating various patterns of charging an electric vehicle. This process is known as Smart Charging. This study integrate s previously mentioned innovations of energy system and analyse the potential of aggregation of electric vehicle s for the purpose of providing flexibility to the electricity system. The thesis will be a technical and economic analysis of the possibility of unlocking this potential in Europe. The regulatory and technical aspects of possible demand side response aggr egation development are presented in the thesis , along with the analysis of Electric Vehicles market and its potential. Thereafter, one exemplary market is analysed further, through developed optimisation model, which allows to assess the value of most imp ortant factors for the aggregator. Three key changing variables are considered in the scheme of charge, those are : the targeted group of clients, the power of the used charger, and the scheme of charging. To assess the importance of those variables the stream of revenues as well as the environmental benefits in the form of potential CO 2 emissions savings are analysed against the variables. E 2 F easibility and market assessment for EV scheduling and aggregation in E uropean countries 2 The major aim and finding of this thesis is to answer the question whether it is plausible to profitab ly develop grid balancing with smart charging of electric vehicles in European Free Trade Association membership countries. The reader will only get to know the answer to that question after flicking through the pages of this pape

Living lab conceptual framework: co-creation and impact assessment of an automated last-mile delivery service

The Future Mobility Solutions Living Lab (LL) at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre was created to bring the Living Lab concept closer to the policy, academic and industrial realms. For higher efficiency and effectiveness of work we have developed a framework, in which projects are distinguished into four categories based on their objectives: business model validation, solutions co-creation, technical validation and impact assessment. This allows to adopt a LL tailored-made approach while allowing a faster identification of the most suitable methods and tools in each specific case. This paper presents results from the application of the LL framework to the co-creation and impact assessment of a last-mile delivery service, outlining ways to refine and validate the LL conceptual framework based on these first experiences

Unravelling the last-mile conundrum: A comparative study of autonomous delivery robots, delivery bicycles, and light commercial vehicles in 14 varied European landscapes

In this study, the growing need for efficient delivery services in the expanding e-commerce sector is addressed, with a focus on real-life consumption data. A comprehensive modelling framework is proposed to evaluate the efficiency of various transportation modes, including Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs), cargo bicycles, and Autonomous Delivery Robots (ADRs). Utilizing the Google API, delivery destinations are identified, origindestination matrices are created, and routes are optimized using Google OR-Tools and a capacitated vehicle routing problem solver. The study`s robustness is further enhanced by incorporating real-life consumption data, considering diverse European contexts, varying urban scales, traffic patterns, and topographical factors, thus assessing their impact on transportation efficiency. The findings reveal that ADRs are efficient in pedestrianfocused, traffic-limited areas, while bicycles are more effective in dense city centres. This research highlights the necessity of tailoring transportation mode choice to specific urban characteristics for optimal efficiency and consumer satisfaction. Overall, the present study offers valuable insights into optimizing delivery services in different urban settings, providing a significant model for improving last-mile delivery systems. It contributes to understanding how different transportation modes can be effectively integrated into urban logistics, addressing environmental sustainability, operational efficiency, and real-life consumer demand

Exploring sustainable urban transportation: insights from shared mobility services and their environmental impact

The transportation landscape is witnessing profound changes due to technological advancements, necessitating proactive policy responses to harness innovation and avert urban mobility disruption. The sharing economy has already transformed ridesharing, bicycle-sharing, and electric scooters, with shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) poised to reshape car ownership. This study pursues two objectives: firstly, to establish a market segmentation for shared ride services and secondly, to evaluate the environmental impact of ridesharing in different contexts. To mitigate potential biases linked to stated preference data, we analysed the navette service, utilized by a research institute in Europe, closely resembling future SAVs. The market segmentation relied on hierarchical cluster analysis using employee survey responses, while the environmental analysis was grounded in the 2019 navette service data. Our analysis revealed four unique employee clusters: Cluster 1, emphasizing active transportation and environmental awareness; Cluster 2, showing openness towards SAVs given reliable alternatives are available; Cluster 3, the largest segment, highlighting a demand for policy support and superior service quality; and Cluster 4, which places a premium on time, suggesting a potential need for strategies to make the service more efficient and, consequently, discourage private car use. These findings highlight a general willingness to adopt shared transport modes, signalling a promising transition to shared vehicle ownership with significant environmental benefits achievable through service design and policy measures

Impact of New Mobility Solutions on Travel Behaviour and Its Incorporation into Travel Demand Models

Advancement in the fields of electrification, automation, and digitalisation and emerging social trends are fuelling the transformation of road transport resulting in the introduction of various innovative mobility solutions. Yet the reaction of people to many of the new solutions is still vastly unknown. This creates an unprecedented quandary for transport planners who are requested to design future transport systems and create the related investment plans without fully validated models to base the assessment upon. As some evidence on citizens’ behaviour concerning new mobility solutions starts to be progressively made available, first attempts to update the existing models begin to emerge. Nevertheless, a lot more is needed as some of the transpiring mobility solutions have not yet reached the market, making the corresponding behaviour changes imponderable. In this context, the main purpose of this paper is to provide a review on how travel behaviour changes linked to the deployment of new mobility solutions have been considered in travel demand models. The new mobility solutions studied include carsharing, dynamic ridesharing, micromobility sharing services, and personal and shared autonomous vehicles. An overview and comparison of relevant studies implementing activity or trip-based demand models and other methodologies are presented. The analysis shows that the results of the different studies heavily depend on the extent to which behavioural changes are considered. The results of the review thus point to the need for holistic demand models that carefully mimic the urban reality with everything it has to offer and account for the importance of individual traits in the decision-making processes. Such models need an in-depth understanding of the microscopic mechanisms leading to the travel behaviour shifts linked to the most innovative mobility solutions. To achieve this level of detail, mobility living labs and their real-life experiments and experience with citizens, which are flourishing in Europe, are suggested to play a crucial role in the years to come

JRC Future Mobility Solutions Living Lab (FMS-Lab): conceptual framework, state of play and way forward

Our mission in creating the Future Mobility Solutions Living Lab (FMS-Lab) at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) is to bring the Living Lab (LL) concept much closer to the policy, academic and industrial realms. In particular, we are using the JRC FMS-Lab as a citizen-centred policy design and regulatory-support tool to test a variety of mobility-related policy and regulatory approaches in a real-life environment. We have applied some of the existing LL methodologies to our FMS-Lab, distinguishing the activities at a macro (organisational), meso (project) and micro (individual) level. In particular, at a meso level, we suggest a framework tailored to different types of JRC LLs projects, namely: business model validation projects, projects focused on the co-creation of solutions, technical validation projects and impact assessment projects. We claim that such an approach would lead to higher efficiency and effectiveness in implementing LL projects. Besides, we have identified the main challenges and related recommendations to take into account when setting up a LL. Specifically, this report sets a theoretical basis on which to support the on-going and future work of the JRC FMS-Lab and other JRC LL activities. Other LL practitioners and policy makers could also find value in this work, understanding how the existing LL theories and practices can be applied to the mobility context to support the development of both new mobility solutions and new policies with a human-centric approach.JRC.C.4 - Sustainable Transpor

Automated vehicles and the urban parking paradigm: environmental implications and Citizen preference

This study examines parking decisions in a future populated by automated vehicles (AVs), focusing on their energy implications. Using a multinomial logit model, preferences among cruising, garage parking, sending the AV home, and on-street parking in Santander, Spain, were evaluated. Home sending emerged as the favourite (52%) for its convenience, while garage parking was chosen by 36%, valued for security and environmental benefits. Cruising was least popular (6%), deterred by environmental concerns. Integrating survey data with traffic simulations, the research uncovered that cruising, despite its low preference, accounted for 16% of energy consumption due to empty trips. Surprisingly, sending AVs home, despite being the most popular, led to significant energy use, although it maintained a good consumption ratio. Garage parking, especially when located on city outskirts, was also inefficient. The study highlights the urgent need for strategies to mitigate inefficient parking behaviours, thereby enhancing the sustainability of AV-driven mobility

Last-mile delivery by automated droids. Sustainability assessment on a real-world case study

This paper presents the outcomes of the sustainability assessment of a last mile delivery service introduced in a real-world case study. The methodology used integrates multi criteria decision making analysis, sustainability pillars and scenario analysis to best reflect the conflicting needs of stakeholders involved in the last mile delivery system. The case study provides an application of the framework to the delivery system of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission where six alternative solutions were analysed and compared: i) the existing service using a manually-driven Euro 4 light commercial vehicle (LCV); ii) the same service using a Euro 6 LCV; iii) the same service using an electric LCV (eLCV); iv) a service composed by an automated delivery droid (robot) coupled with a Euro 4 LCV; v) a service with the delivery droid coupled with a depot station; and vi) a service with the delivery droid coupled with the eLCV. The results show that low-capital investment in delivery droids could lead to significant savings on the operational costs, whilst improving the environmental performance of the system. Nevertheless, there are potential social sustainability shortcomings in terms of safety and equity

Teenagers and Automated Vehicles: Are They Ready to Use Them?

ABSTRACT: Mobility needs, expectations, and concerns vary across age groups and are closely linked to users' views on the future of the road transport system. Automated vehicles are expected to have a significant impact on the future of the road transport system, and pilot deployments are increasingly being tested in Europe and beyond, which is also thanks to the evolving regulatory landscape. As a result, several studies have started to analyse citizens' attitudes towards this technology. However, very few studies have focused on teenagers' views on automated vehicles, although today's children and teenagers could be among the first users of such vehicles. Studying teenagers and the way they envisage automated vehicles in the future is of particular significance in defining transport planning strategies and supporting upcoming policy orientations. To cover this gap, the present study aims to explore teenagers' views about automated vehicles and whether and how they could fit into their future transport setting. A series of on-line and face-to-face focus groups, a demonstration of an automated vehicle prototype, supporting engagement activities, and a post-pre survey were used to collect their views on the topic. The results show that even though the teenagers acknowledged the potential advantages, they also expressed concerns in relation to the interactions with other road users, to automated driving systems' reliability, to safety, and to data privacy. In particular, these safety concerns revealed an unwillingness on the part of the teenagers to be among the first users of automated vehicles.This research has been funded by the European Commission Joint Research Centre Institutional Funds