Efficiency optimization of a peri-urban public transport corridor, from an energy and environmental perspective

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to assess new technologies and strategies to increase the efficiency and quality of a bimodal public transport. The work involves three phases: empirical data collection for supply and demand characterisation, assessing operational and environmental performance, identifying inefficiencies and studying alternative strategies. It was concluded that a better articulation between the type of buses used in the passenger demand and the use of electric buses could reduce CO2 emissions significantly. Using smaller-capacity buses, such as the minibus at off-peak hours, reduces CO2 emissions by 50%; regarding railways, a BRT scenario was studied, and simulation results show that this would lead to a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to Diesel trains.