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Sustainability
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Planning and Optimization of Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities
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Planning and Optimization of Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Transportation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2024) | Viewed by 16364

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Christina Iliopoulou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Interests: transportation planning; network design; public transport; artificial intelligence
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Konstantinos Kepaptsoglou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Rural, Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 157 80 Athens, Greece
Interests: transportation planning; public transportation; infrastructure management; operations research; transportation economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In this era of climate change, rapid urbanization, and emerging social inequality, modern cities face serious challenges that could impact their sustainability and efficiency. Increased reliance on automobiles has led to intense traffic congestion and inadequate public transport services, as well as health and environmental consequences such as oil scarcity, air quality deterioration, and greenhouse gas emissions. Such negative impacts resulting from congestion and the unattractiveness of road environments may now be considered significant shortcomings for cities. Under this scope, sustainable transport is considered one of the main pillars of smart city development and should aim to mitigate the adverse effects of congestion, thus promoting more sustainable and people-centric urban centers.

In this respect, this Special Issue welcomes high-quality research papers on the planning and optimization of sustainable urban transportation. Key areas include electric mobility, public transport systems, active transportation, ridesharing, and autonomous mobility, as well as intelligent control methods aimed at reducing congestion and emissions.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Public transport planning;
  • Flexible, demand-responsive transit systems;
  • Micro-mobility systems;
  • Autonomous, shared mobility and Mobility as a Service system;
  • Connected vehicle applications;
  • Intelligent Transportation System applications.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Christina Iliopoulou
Dr. Konstantinos Kepaptsoglou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • transport systems
  • transportation networks
  • optimization
  • routing
  • electromobility
  • sustainable transportation
  • intelligent transportation systems

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 792 KiB  
Article
Subway Openings and Urban Air Pollution Mitigation: Pathways to Sustainable Development in China
by Shanlang Lin, Tian Yu and Junpei Huang
Sustainability 2025, 17(11), 4782; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17114782 - 22 May 2025
Viewed by 78
Abstract
Air pollution not only affects urban production and residents’ lives but also threatens human health, and the construction of the subway is considered an important measure to improve urban traffic congestion and air quality. To test whether the construction and opening of subways [...] Read more.
Air pollution not only affects urban production and residents’ lives but also threatens human health, and the construction of the subway is considered an important measure to improve urban traffic congestion and air quality. To test whether the construction and opening of subways with high operating costs can effectively improve urban air quality, this paper takes the opening of subways as a quasi-natural experiment. Based on panel data from 282 cities in China from 2014 to 2021, the difference-in-differences method is used to estimate the impact of subway openings on urban air pollution. It is found that (1) the subway opening significantly reduces urban air pollution, and this conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests. (2) Mechanism analysis indicates that subway openings mostly mitigate urban air pollution through the traffic substitution effect, which is generated through the substitution of private car travel. (3) Heterogeneity analyses show that the abatement effect of subway openings on air pollution is more significant when the city is a non-Yangtze River Economic Belt city, or when the city’s economic level is lower, or when the city is a non-resource-based city. Therefore, this paper puts forward targeted policy recommendations, such as optimising the subway layout, promoting the transit-oriented development mode based on the subway system, and implementing differentiated development strategies, with a view to providing certain references for promoting sustainable urban development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning and Optimization of Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities)
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16 pages, 1049 KiB  
Article
Travel Characteristics and Cost–Benefit Analysis of Bikeshare Service on University Campuses
by Xianyuan Zhu, Duanya Lyu, Jianmin Xu and Yongjie Lin
Sustainability 2025, 17(8), 3489; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17083489 - 14 Apr 2025
Viewed by 355
Abstract
Bikeshare has emerged as a sustainable mobility solution not only for addressing the first- and last-kilometer problem but facilitating short- and medium-distance travel. While existing research predominantly focuses on city-level Bikeshare Programs (BSPs), there is a paucity of studies examining university campus BSPs, [...] Read more.
Bikeshare has emerged as a sustainable mobility solution not only for addressing the first- and last-kilometer problem but facilitating short- and medium-distance travel. While existing research predominantly focuses on city-level Bikeshare Programs (BSPs), there is a paucity of studies examining university campus BSPs, particularly in terms of quantitative analysis of trip frequency and system operation sustainability. This paper presents a systematical framework to investigate university campus BSPs from two complementary perspectives: users’ travel characteristics and operational sustainability. To achieve this, two successive self-reported questionnaire surveys were conducted on the campus of South China University of Technology in 2017 and 2020, respectively. Subsequently, a multinomial logistic regression model was developed to identify the key factors influencing users’ travel frequency. Finally, a cost–benefit analysis was developed to assess the operational sustainability of the system. The findings reveal two significant insights: (1) the system was profitable under the 2017 fare policy, with the potential to maximize profits by strategically increasing fares while enhancing service quality; and (2) in 2020, when the fare is adjusted closer to the predicted optimal value, there is an increase in the proportion of high-frequency users, accompanied by improved user experience, reduced difficulty in bike access/return, and slightly lower pricing satisfaction. This study provides a valuable method that can be extended to the restricted service communities for effective planning and evaluation of bikeshare systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning and Optimization of Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities)
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21 pages, 320 KiB  
Article
The Electric Vehicle Scheduling Problem for Buses in Networks with Multi-Port Charging Stations
by Matina L. Y. Chau, Diamanto Koutsompina and Konstantinos Gkiotsalitis
Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1305; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031305 - 3 Feb 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2196
Abstract
As more and more cities try to reduce their CO2 emissions, public transport fleets are undergoing a transition from conventional to electric vehicles. To complete this shift, there is a need to build the required charging infrastructure. When the first electric buses [...] Read more.
As more and more cities try to reduce their CO2 emissions, public transport fleets are undergoing a transition from conventional to electric vehicles. To complete this shift, there is a need to build the required charging infrastructure. When the first electric buses were adopted, the charging stations were mostly built in the locations of large bus depots. However, in recent years, there has been a crowding problem in the charging stations resulting in queuing and unnecessary delays. In this study, we explore the potential of replacing single-port charging stations with multi-port charging stations that can serve multiple vehicles at once with a reduced charging rate. Because the charging rate reduces with the number of ports, we develop a mixed-integer linear program to determine the charging schedules of bus fleets in order to reduce the overall delays in the bus network. The novel formulation is tested in benchmark instances of various sizes demonstrating the improvement potential. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning and Optimization of Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities)
25 pages, 17409 KiB  
Article
Integrating Cargo Bikes and Drones into Last-Mile Deliveries: Insights from Pilot Deliveries in Five Greek Cities
by Konstantinos Athanasopoulos, Ioannis Chatziioannou, Argyro-Maria Boutsi, Georgios Tsingenopoulos, Sofia Soile, Regina Chliverou, Zoe Petrakou, Efstathios Papanikolaou, Christos Karolemeas, Efthymia Kourmpa, Kalliopi Papadaki, Eleftheria Tzika, Charalabos Ioannidis, Chryssy Potsiou and Thanos Vlastos
Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1060; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031060 - 26 Jan 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4155
Abstract
Currently, there is a growing consensus that the use of more sustainable urban freight transportation has the potential to offer major energy and efficiency benefits which can be achieved through the appropriate combination of cargo bikes and the integration of drones into the [...] Read more.
Currently, there is a growing consensus that the use of more sustainable urban freight transportation has the potential to offer major energy and efficiency benefits which can be achieved through the appropriate combination of cargo bikes and the integration of drones into the urban logistics system. This study presents the results of a stepwise regression analysis that examines the role, benefits, and impact of electric vehicles such as e-bikes, cargo bikes, and drones for intermodal freight transportation in five Greek cities to support the green logistics paradigm. The results show that between routes of almost equal length, the most bicycle-friendly routes, such as routes along pedestrian areas or residential streets, should be avoided, as they reduce delivery speed and increase delivery costs in terms of energy and time expenditure. In addition, priority roads, which usually have higher traffic speeds and more trucks, are preferred by cyclists due to the quality of the road surface, even though the feeling of safety is lower on such roads. Finally, regarding drones, energy consumption is relatively low in the 0–5 mph and 6–10 mph wind speed ranges, indicating efficient energy use. In the 11–15 mph and 16–20 mph wind speed ranges, energy efficiency is significantly lower than the battery capacity, indicating that the cargo drone exhibits excessive energy consumption under these conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning and Optimization of Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities)
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27 pages, 3041 KiB  
Article
MaaS Implications in the Smart City: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach
by Iria Lopez-Carreiro, Andres Monzon and Elena Lopez
Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10832; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151410832 - 10 Jul 2023
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3544
Abstract
Cities worldwide are calling for smart mobility strategies to tackle the negative externalities of their transport networks. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is expected to introduce a new mobility model that promotes smarter and more sustainable urban futures. Given the novelty of the [...] Read more.
Cities worldwide are calling for smart mobility strategies to tackle the negative externalities of their transport networks. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is expected to introduce a new mobility model that promotes smarter and more sustainable urban futures. Given the novelty of the concept, this paper explores the implications that might arise from the implementation of MaaS in today’s metropolises in relation to the six dimensions of smart cities: smart governance, smart economy, smart mobility, smart environment, smart people, and smart living. To this end, 42 semi-structured interviews with MaaS stakeholders were conducted in Madrid (Spain). Thematic analysis identified a set of 35 urban implications. The success of MaaS requires more than the mere deployment of technologies and must be supported by the reorganisation of institutional structures, the reform of the regulatory scenario, the stimulation of innovation-based entrepreneurship, the promotion of environmental awareness, the encouragement of cultural transition, and the consideration of the public sphere. Overall, valuable insights are identified for policymakers when designing MaaS. Assessment of multiple stakeholders’ perspectives enables a holistic understanding of these strategies and thus maximises their potential to address the limitations of our complex mobility systems in meeting urban sustainability goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning and Optimization of Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities)
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Review

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19 pages, 1329 KiB  
Review
Pedestrian Walking Speed Analysis: A Systematic Review
by Maria Giannoulaki and Zoi Christoforou
Sustainability 2024, 16(11), 4813; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114813 - 5 Jun 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4582
Abstract
(1) Background: Almost all trips include a walking leg. Pedestrian flow dynamics are an essential input to infrastructure design as well as efficient and safe operations. Pedestrian walking speed is the most influential traffic flow variable. This study examines the factors influencing pedestrian [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Almost all trips include a walking leg. Pedestrian flow dynamics are an essential input to infrastructure design as well as efficient and safe operations. Pedestrian walking speed is the most influential traffic flow variable. This study examines the factors influencing pedestrian walking speed, categorizing them into pedestrian flow characteristics, pedestrian attributes, layout configuration, ambient conditions, and pedestrian behavioral patterns. (2) Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted, aggregating studies that investigate pedestrian walking speed across various environments and conditions. The identified factors were systematically categorized, and a meta-analysis was employed to synthesize the results. (3) Results: Speed measurements seem to be dependent on the method and technique employed, with experiments systematically overestimating speed and video recordings systematically underestimating it. Pedestrian density strongly influences speed as in motorized traffic. Being female, being of older age, walking in a group, engaging in social interactions or phone-related tasks, and moving under noise conditions are reported to have a negative impact on walking speed. Carrying baggage and moving under adverse weather conditions are also reported to have a statistically significant impact, but the direction of the impact is not always the same and seems to be very context dependent. (4) Conclusions: The findings highlight the significance of physiological, psychological, and environmental elements in shaping pedestrian behavior and thus speed. Valuable insights from this review can assist researchers, designers, and operators in providing safer, more inclusive, and reliable infrastructures for pedestrians. Future investigations should broaden the scope of data collection methods, particularly indoors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning and Optimization of Sustainable Transportation in Smart Cities)
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