Congestion and Emissions Mitigation: A Comparison of Capacity, Demand, and Efficiency Based Strategies

Authors

Alexander Y. Bigazzi, Portland State UniversityFollow
Miguel Figliozzi, Portland State UniversityFollow

Sponsor

The authors would like to thank for their support of this project: the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium and the US Department of Transportation through the Eisenhower Graduate Fellowship program

Published In

Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment

Document Type

Citation

Publication Date

10-2012

Subjects

Congestion mitigation, Emissions reductions, Vehicle emissions, Traffic management

Abstract

Capacity, demand, and vehicle based emissions reduction strategies are compared for several pollutants employing aggregate US congestion and vehicle fleet condition data. We find that congestion mitigation does not inevitably lead to reduced emissions; the net effect of mitigation depends on the balance of induced travel demand and increased vehicle efficiency that in turn depend on the pollutant, congestion level, and fleet composition. In the long run, capacity-based congestion improvements within certain speed intervals can reasonably be expected to increase emissions of CO2e, CO, and NOx through increased vehicle travel volume. Better opportunities for emissions reductions exist for HC and PM2.5 emissions, and on more heavily congested arterials. Advanced-efficiency vehicles with emissions rates that are less sensitive to congestion than conventional vehicles generate less emissions co-benefits from congestion mitigation.

Description

Copyright 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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Unaffiliated researchers can access the work here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2012.06.008

DOI

10.1016/j.trd.2012.06.008

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/20803

Citation Details

Alexander Y. Bigazzi, Miguel A. Figliozzi (2012). Congestion and emissions mitigation: A comparison of capacity, demand, and vehicle based strategies, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Volume 17, Issue 7, Pages 538-547.