Sustainable Transport Systems and New Mobility Services: Challenges and Solutions

Dear Colleagues,

Today, more than ever before, the mobility of passengers and goods is undergoing unprecedented transformations. Socioeconomic changes and technological advances have resulted in a volatile state of transport where supply and demand are constantly transitioning. Innovative disruptive schemes for passengers (mobility as a service, ride-hailing, microtransit, carpooling, car clubs, etc.), sustainable last-mile logistics offerings (e-vehicles, crowdshipping, crowdsourcing, physical internet for logistics, etc.), and the advent of connected and autonomous vehicles constitute a powerful, but untested mix of transport supply. Conversely, the rise of urbanization, the transport usership aptitudes of generation Z, and same-day delivery for e-commerce paradigms are a few events that have resulted in unfamiliar patterns of transport demand. Furthermore, policies for low or zero emission zones are starting to become part of cities’ urban mobility and logistics plans whereas the recent pandemic has impacted working and consuming habits, whose long-standing effects are still unknown. As a result of the above, decision makers require tools that will allow them to effectively prognose short- and medium-term states of transport supply and demand, and assess the impact of different policies and strategies in better managing such states. In addition, the plethora of new mobility services has given rise to the need for integrated technological solutions which will harness the large amount of data being generated by the operation of such services and will allow their optimal configuration and deployment.

In this Topic, we welcome papers that present innovative modelling and simulation approaches and tools that can support decision-makers in planning sustainable transport systems by considering different eventualities in the current ever-changing conditions and forestalling adverse transport impacts. In addition, we invite the submission of research works that propose integrated and data-driven technology solutions that can facilitate the rapid adoption and frictionless deployment of sustainable transport systems and innovative mobility services. Submitted papers may contain, but are not limited to, systematic reviews, conceptual designs of solutions, technological prototypes, outputs of live demonstrations, and observational studies. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Transport simulation tools
• Modelling of transportation services
• Integration of innovative mobility services, inc. autonomous vehicles and drones
• Shared mobility and mobility as a service
• Data-driven impact assessment methodologies
• Urban and last-mile logistics services
• Innovative traffic management applications
• Big data analytics for transportation
• Machine learning for transport applications
• Smart city platforms integrating new mobility services
• Digital twins for transport systems
• Decarbonisation of urban freight transport

Dr. Efthimios Bothos
Dr. Panagiotis Georgakis
Dr. Babis Magoutas
Dr. Michiel de Bok
Topic Editors