{"title":"Flying toward sustainability? Investigating the attitude-behaviour gap among Italian air travellers","authors":"Riccardo Colantuono , Alessandro Montanaro , Massimiliano Mazzanti , Susanna Mancinelli , Emilio Paolo Visintin","doi":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101466","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101466","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Air transport, a major contributor to carbon emissions, faces escalating environmental scrutiny both in Europe and beyond. This study focuses on investigating the attitude-behaviour gap regarding individual flying activity and environmental concern among Italian air travellers. An original survey collected data on demographics, flying activity, awareness, and policy support from a representative sample of 1004 Italian adults; then, regression models analysed factors influencing flight frequency and distance travelled. Findings reveal significant correlations between policy support and reduced flying, highlighting policy attitudes' impact on behaviour. However, general environmental concern did not consistently affect travel decisions, underscoring the persistent attitude-behaviour gap already described in the literature. Further analysis differentiated motivations for flying and flight distance, observing distinct behaviours for different sub-samples of flights. While environmentally aware individuals do not reduce business travel accordingly, policy supporters showed reluctance for vacation flights. Moreover, further reducing the analysis to “substitutable” flights, both the environmental concern and the policy support variable gained significance. Finally, a latent class model analysis additionally extends the interpretation of the results. These emphasize the need for comprehensive policies addressing both supply and demand sides of aviation emissions, such as combining market-based and regulatory interventions alongside education, information and the promotion of Sustainable Alternative Fuels (SAFs). Overall, the study analyses a pivotal environmental issue through the analysis of a novel sample and contributes to understanding individual behaviours and informing policy strategies to mitigate aviation's environmental impact.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47453,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Business and Management","volume":"62 ","pages":"Article 101466"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144720959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The siphoning effect of transportation infrastructure on tourism development: Evidence from China","authors":"Mingda Cheng , Ru Yan , Jingqi Dang","doi":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101465","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101465","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although transportation infrastructure plays a crucial role in economic development, its impact on interregional development inequalities remains under-explored. By using a rigorous and effective instrumental variable-difference in differences (<em>IV-DID</em>) empirical strategy based on a unique data in China, this study evaluates the impact of the high-speed rail (HSR) on regional disparities between cities from the perspective of tourism development. The findings reveal a significant “siphoning effect” linked to the opening of HSR. While the introduction of HSR markedly enhances tourism development, its benefits are predominantly realized in cities that already possess ample tourism resources, superior service quality, and higher city positioning. Conversely, less advantaged cities do not experience a comparable boost in tourism growth. This disparity indicates that HSR, rather than equalizing opportunities, may actually intensify existing inequalities in tourism development. Cities with pre-existing advantages continue to flourish, whereas those with fewer resources gain little from HSR implementation. Our results contribute to the limited evidence regarding the influence of transportation infrastructure on regional tourism disparities. The findings carry profound implications for policymakers, underscoring the need for strategies that not only promote overall development but also specifically address and mitigate the widening gap between more and less advantaged regions. Such policy considerations are vital in ensuring regions equitable benefit from infrastructure advancements like HSR, thereby fostering balanced regional growth and development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47453,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Business and Management","volume":"62 ","pages":"Article 101465"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144704655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessing smartphone use while driving: A Real-Time Delphi study on risks and prevention strategies","authors":"Yuri Calleo , Simone Di Zio , Nadia Giuffrida","doi":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101469","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101469","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Smartphone use while driving represents a major public safety issue, significantly contributing to road accidents and fatalities. This study investigates the underlying factors influencing this behavior, focusing on the case of Italy, and evaluates potential prevention strategies. By adopting a participatory approach and real-time web surveys through the Real-Time Delphi method, the research engages both citizens and experts to gain a comprehensive understanding of the motivations behind smartphone use while driving and the existing regulatory shortcomings. Experts identify and propose a range of innovative countermeasures, including technological interventions, stricter legal enforcement, and behavioral strategies designed to curb this risky behavior. Citizens, in turn, assess the feasibility and perceived effectiveness of these measures, offering valuable insights into public attitudes and potential barriers to implementation. The findings highlight the persistent nature of distracted driving despite current regulations, indicating that legal frameworks alone are insufficient to fully address the issue. Instead, a multifaceted approach that combines enforcement, public education, and technological solutions is necessary to mitigate risks effectively. The innovation of this study contributes to the development of targeted policies and evidence-based interventions aimed at improving road safety in Italy and beyond.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47453,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Business and Management","volume":"62 ","pages":"Article 101469"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144704656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The potential of battery electric trucks in forest transportation","authors":"Rahul Iyer, Bobin Wang, Mikael Rönnqvist","doi":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101461","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101461","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The forest transportation sector is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Industrial professionals aim to shift towards more environmentally friendly practices to help reduce emissions. Electrification is relatively new to forest transportation, as there are limited studies describing its influence because of limited practical use and a lack of relevant data on energy consumption and the behavior of electric trucks. This study investigates various opportunities and barriers to the adoption of battery electric trucks in forestry to support the emission reduction goals of Canada. This paper reviews the scientific literature relevant to studies in battery electric trucks in three planning horizons: strategic, tactical, and operational planning. It looks at the recent developments of heavy-duty electric trucks in charging infrastructure, life cycle analysis, total cost of ownership, energy consumption, emerging technology, and specific routing problems. This paper also discusses industrial initiatives in forest freight electrification. The analysis results highlight the different industrial applications in forestry where electrification brought about a watershed. The forest transportation sector has the potential to become carbon-neutral by investing in battery electric trucks, but achieving net-zero emissions might not be realistic without changes in policies and incentives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47453,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Business and Management","volume":"62 ","pages":"Article 101461"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144704654","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Electric bus adoption for sustainable urban mobility: Public policies, technological maturity of cities, and small business innovation","authors":"Rodrigo Cortopassi Goron Lobo , Danielle Denes-Santos , Fabio José Ricardo","doi":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101463","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101463","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Brazilian National Energy Balance underscores transportation as the primary energy consumer and major contributor to atmospheric pollution. Despite escalating energy demand, Brazil relies heavily on fossil fuels, and its energy efficiency lags behind other nations. Electric buses offer a viable solution, boasting low greenhouse gas emissions and various socio-economic and environmental benefits, including noise reduction, enhanced air quality, cost savings, and job creation in the electric vehicle sector. Small business innovation is pivotal in this context, driving the development of technologies and solutions. The research inquiry focuses on the impact of public policies on the technological maturity of electric bus adoption for sustainable urban mobility in Brazilian cities. Employing a multi-method approach, including the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and interviews with industry stakeholders, preliminary findings highlight the critical role of regulatory frameworks and incentives in enhancing cities' maturity levels, surpassing technological advancements and performance metrics in importance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47453,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Business and Management","volume":"62 ","pages":"Article 101463"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144702592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An integrated environmental awareness, UTAUT2 model, and image concern framework for early BEV adopters in Thailand: The moderating effects of individual characteristics","authors":"Natcha Limpasirisuwan , Thanapong Champahom , Sajjakaj Jomnonkwao , Vatanavongs Ratanavaraha","doi":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101464","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101464","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite the significant potential of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, their global adoption rate, including in Thailand, is exhibiting a concerning decline. This trend contrasts sharply with the increasing uptake of other electric vehicle variants, signaling a diminishing consumer propensity toward BEVs. This study investigates the psychological factors influencing BEV adoption by examining current owners' usage patterns through an integrated framework of environmental awareness, UTAUT2 model, and image concerns (apprehensions about negative social perceptions of BEV ownership). Data were collected from 846 BEV owners across Thailand's major regions and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with specific moderating effects. The findings reveal that environmental awareness significantly enhances positive perceptions across all UTAUT2 dimensions, with the strongest effects on facilitating conditions (<em>β</em> = 0.837) and perceived performance (<em>β</em> = 0.833). Notably, while perceived performance and effort positively influence BEV adoption, social influence and hedonic motivation unexpectedly.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47453,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Business and Management","volume":"62 ","pages":"Article 101464"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144696438","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Firzan Firzan , Muhammad Zudhy Irawan , Taqia Rahman , Nur Oktaviani Widiastuti , Muhammad Hadid , Nur Hadijah Yunianti
{"title":"Paratransit in the digital era: A comparative systematic literature review and transferability of developed-country models to developing countries","authors":"Firzan Firzan , Muhammad Zudhy Irawan , Taqia Rahman , Nur Oktaviani Widiastuti , Muhammad Hadid , Nur Hadijah Yunianti","doi":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101456","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101456","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Paratransit systems, characterized by flexibility and demand responsiveness, bridge critical gaps in urban mobility for low-income and marginalized populations. In the digital era, emerging technologies offer opportunities to improve efficiency, accessibility, and sustainability. This study presents a comparative review of minibus-based paratransit in developed and developing contexts by combining a bibliometric analysis of literature published between 2016 and April 2025 with a qualitative assessment of case studies and pilot projects. The findings show that in developing countries, these systems remain largely less formal and user-driven, serving both trunk and feeder functions. In contrast, paratransit services in developed countries operate under formal regulations and employ advanced information and communication technology to serve older adults and individuals with disabilities. Building on these insights, this study proposes an integrated demand-responsive transit transferability framework for action that covers technology, service design, integration, and business model components, each supported by specific regulatory enablers and practical strategies. The framework guides policymakers, transit agencies, and technology providers in adapting digital solutions across diverse socioeconomic and infrastructural environments. Key challenges include regulatory fragmentation, gaps in digital literacy, and financing constraints. The study concludes by outlining priority research directions to improve driver certification, advance multimodal integration, and develop sustainable digital business models that balance cost effectiveness, inclusivity, and environmental objectives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47453,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Business and Management","volume":"62 ","pages":"Article 101456"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144696440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hyunwoo Lee , Sangpil Ko , Jun Lee , Jeong Whon Yu
{"title":"Operational strategies for a sustainable eco-friendly public transportation system: A comparative evaluation using traffic and emission microsimulation models","authors":"Hyunwoo Lee , Sangpil Ko , Jun Lee , Jeong Whon Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101452","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101452","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>For carbon neutrality and alleviation of traffic congestion, large cities are considering the eco-friendly public transportation. While many researches have studied on selecting modes suitable for large cities, there is a lack of detailed comparative analysis of various operational strategies for different public transportation modes. It is essential to focus not only on comparing different public transportation modes but also on the operational strategies and methods that can be applied in various ways. This study assesses the sustainability of various operational strategies for eco-friendly modes by using economic, social, and environmental factors, utilizing the integrated approach with VISSIM and VisVAP for accurate simulation and analysis. We propose new public transportation modes and determine the most efficient operational strategies for implementing effective mass transit systems in cities. This methodology is validated by modeling the road conditions of large cities with heavy traffic. The findings indicate that the super BRT<span><span><sup>3</sup></span></span> dedicated mode operated in a one-way configuration, combined with various strategies, is superior to trams.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47453,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Business and Management","volume":"62 ","pages":"Article 101452"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144696436","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaobing Liu , Yite Sun , Rui Wang , Weimin Tan , Feng Chen , Xuedong Yan , Yun Wang
{"title":"Quantifying the potential benefits of buspooling: Case study and sensitivity analysis","authors":"Xiaobing Liu , Yite Sun , Rui Wang , Weimin Tan , Feng Chen , Xuedong Yan , Yun Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101457","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101457","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the realm of mobility services, high-capacity ridesharing such as buspooling holds promise in alleviating the overuse of low-capacity cars and addressing accessibility bottlenecks to public transit systems. However, research on buspooling remains in its fancy stage, requiring dedicated efforts to quantify and enhance its potential benefits. In this paper, we propose car-user-oriented and sustainable operating principles and embody them in a passenger matching model. Furthermore, we employ a solution approach including the spatial-temporal pruning strategies and a heuristic algorithm to guarantee the efficiency of larger-scale computing. Applying this system to the case of Beijing, results demonstrate that buspooling services could yield significant benefits to passengers, operators, and the environment. The consistency observed between the distribution of taxi trips and bus routes suggests that buspooling could effectively enhance subway accessibility, especially for residents in suburban areas. Moreover, findings from a sophisticated analysis can inform the design of a more attractive and eco-friendly system for intermodal transit services in practice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47453,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Business and Management","volume":"62 ","pages":"Article 101457"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144696437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Employment challenges and opportunities in the construction of smart ports","authors":"Wenqian Chang , Yingxiu Zhao , Yanan Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101462","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.rtbm.2025.101462","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores the talent demand during the construction of smart ports, providing decision-making support for human resource development and deployment, and offering references for career planning. Firstly, it clarifies the employment status of smart port construction and presents hypotheses. Next, it extracts data characteristics of Tianjin Port, and the employees of container terminal enterprises, forming an indicator system. Then, it evaluates the smart port construction using the Entropy TOPSIS and utilizes the cross-quantilogram to obtain the correlation with the talent characteristics. Subsequently, the method of empirical likelihood ratio is used to classify the matching of smart ports and talent characteristics. Finally, robustness analysis is conducted. It indicates that with the smart port advancement, the number of knowledge-intensive and technology-intensive positions increases, while labor intensive positions decrease. Smart port construction imposes higher requirements on the skills, educational background, and career planning of symmetric employees, but there is no age discrimination as hypothesized.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47453,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Business and Management","volume":"62 ","pages":"Article 101462"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144696439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}