Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

Shared Autonomous Vehicles: Urban Form, Land Use, Travel Behavior and Environmental Issues

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 6525

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Sergio Maria Patella

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Faculty of Economics, Universitas Mercatorum, Piazza Mattei 10, 00186 Rome, Italy
Interests: urban mobility; sustainable transportation; autonomous vehicles; advanced traveler information systems; transit planning; travel demand modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Shared mobility is rapidly growing as a result of a pressing need in making cities and urban settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. At the same time, autonomous vehicles are gradually becoming familiar and represent the biggest innovation in transportation technology.

The synergy between autonomous vehicles and shared mobility has the potential to significantly reshape transportation systems and the urban form, potentially mitigating transportation-related environmental impacts.

This call for papers seeks innovative studies identifying opportunities, new applications, key factors and barriers in the introduction of shared autonomous vehicle (SAV) systems.

We encourage methodological, practice-oriented and policy-related original submissions contributing to the understanding of how SAVs can affect our daily life and their implications regarding the design, construction, maintenance and management of transportation systems.

Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Environmental impacts of SAVs;
Users’ perception of SAVs;
The use of SAVs under a mobility-as-a-service paradigm;
Regulation of SAV services;
Potential demand estimation for SAVs;
Decision support system for SAV systems;
Traffic simulation incorporating SAVs;
Impact of SAVs on traffic flow and safety.

Prof. Dr. Sergio Maria Patella
Guest Editor

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

transportation planning
sustainable transportation
shared mobility
car sharing
autonomous vehicles
shared autonomous vehicles
urban mobility
sustainable mobility
urban development
green vehicles
travel behavior

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

14 pages, 3200 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Exclusive Lanes for Autonomous Vehicles on Urban Expressways under Mixed Traffic of Autonomous and Human-Driven Vehicles

by Jonghan Park, Seunghwa Jang and Joonho Ko

Sustainability 2024, 16(1), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16010026 - 19 Dec 2023

Viewed by 798

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are expected to be seen easily on our roads, providing benefits to society in the future. However, due to the challenges faced such as technical and regulatory issues, it will take a long time to reach 100% AVs, suggesting the coexistence of AVs and human-driven vehicles (HVs) for a substantial time. This coexistence of the mixed traffic of AVs and HVs may affect network performances in urban areas. Under this circumstance, to promote the rapid advancement of AV technology, transportation authorities are considering introducing AV-exclusive lanes. This study evaluates AV lane operation scenarios with mixed traffic consisting of both AVs and HVs. We utilized a macroscopic traffic simulation-based approach to measure the effects of AV lanes on two urban expressways in Seoul, South Korea. We varied the market penetration rate (MPR) from 10 to 80% in 10% increments. The simulation results indicate that the impact of exclusive lanes can be either negligible or beneficial depending on the characteristics of the roads. The results also showed that, in terms of the efficient use of road capacity, AV lanes should be introduced when the MPR reaches at least 20 to 30%. The results also showed that the capacity gain effect is more sensitive over a lower MPR range. We expect this study to not only enhance policy makers’ and planners’ fundamental understanding of the early stages of AV-exclusive lanes, but also help them prepare a large-scale urban network structure in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Shared Autonomous Vehicles: Urban Form, Land Use, Travel Behavior and Environmental Issues)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 3439 KiB

Open AccessArticle

To Share or Not to Share—Expected Transportation Mode Changes Given Different Types of Fully Automated Vehicles

by Laura Heubeck, Franziska Hartwich and Franziska Bocklisch

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5056; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065056 - 13 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1313

Abstract

When it comes to climate change, automated vehicles (AV) are often presented as a key factor to reducing emissions related with the transport sector. While studies promise emissions savings of up to 80%, it is often overlooked how AVs will be introduced and which transportation mode changes will arise from their implementation. Therefore, this online survey examined usage intentions regarding private and shared AV types, and underlying attitudes and mobility needs of 136 current users of different main modes of transport. Two main results counteract the general assumption of ecological sustainability benefits of AVs: First, current car drivers prefer private over shared AV types, even though notable sustainability gains can only be expected from shared AVs. Second, current users of more sustainable modes of transport (walking, bike, public transport) would replace theses modes by AVs for substantial shares of their trips, which represents a behavioural rebound effect, since AVs cannot be more sustainable than walking or biking. Group-specific mobility needs and knowledge gaps regarding the sustainability of different AV types are identified as reasons for these results and as starting points for deriving necessary measures accompanying the introduction of AVs into society through motivating ecologically sustainable transportation mode changes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Shared Autonomous Vehicles: Urban Form, Land Use, Travel Behavior and Environmental Issues)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 1312 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Usage Intention of Shared Autonomous Vehicles with Dynamic Ride Sharing on Long-Distance Trips

by Mohammadhossein Abbasi, Amir Reza Mamdoohi, Grzegorz Sierpiński and Francesco Ciari

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1649; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021649 - 14 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1932

Abstract

Technology advancements have paved the way for public access to shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs), but there is still no travel survey examining how SAVs with dynamic ride sharing (DRS) affect long-distance (LD) trips. Given the growth in these trips and the higher importance of travel time and cost on LD trips, assessing potential impacts of SAVs could be a vital tool in planning for a sustainable transportation system. This paper examines the impact of various attitudinal, sociodemographic, and travel-related characteristics on the usage intention of SAVs with DRS on LD trips. We have designed and conducted a web-based survey for this purpose and based on a representative sample of 723 individuals in 2021, a Generalized Ordered Logit model is estimated. Estimation results highlight the key importance of following psychological factors in a descending order: price evaluation, perceived usefulness, consumer innovativeness, sharing attitude, and privacy concern. Further, key factors among sociodemographic and travel-related characteristics are gender, education level, driving license, household car ownership, generational element, and crash history. These findings provide crucial insights into the likely effects of SAVs with DRS on LD trip behavior, based on which a number of practical implications are proposed for facilitating policy-making. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Shared Autonomous Vehicles: Urban Form, Land Use, Travel Behavior and Environmental Issues)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

12 pages, 621 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Integration of Shared Autonomous Vehicles in Public Transportation Services: A Systematic Review

by Filippo Carrese, Simone Sportiello, Tolegen Zhaksylykov, Chiara Colombaroni, Stefano Carrese, Muzio Papaveri and Sergio Maria Patella

Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 13023; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151713023 - 29 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1808

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles and shared mobility represent two fields of strong innovation in transportation research, and Shared Autonomous Vehicle (SAV) services have been studied as a new promising mobility system. Such services offer a strong potential especially when integrated with the Public Transport (PT) system, increasing its attractiveness by providing first- and last-mile connections to low-demand areas. This paper performs a systematic review on a niche of SAV-related literature, selecting articles that address PT-SAV integrations, the issue of how SAVs should be implemented together with already existing transit systems to enhance collective mobility. Papers have been classified firstly according to the methodological and modelling approaches used by researchers, and then according to the different operational schemes with which SAV systems can be deployed. Common findings have been reported and commented on, identifying the lack of articles aimed at determining the most suitable SAV service typology for specific contexts and network configuration. Many authors indicate that if SAVs are operated as feeder modes to mass transit, they might improve public transport connectivity. However, further research is needed to explore the efficacy of SAV systems as an opportunity to address first/last-mile PT planning issues. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Shared Autonomous Vehicles: Urban Form, Land Use, Travel Behavior and Environmental Issues)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Shared Autonomous Vehicles: Urban Form, Land Use, Travel Behavior and Environmental Issues

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (4 papers)

Research

Review

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI