Ioannis Karakikes , Athena Tsirimpa , Federico Moro , Vaike Fors , Amalia Polydoropoulou
{"title":"Piloting a joint delivery system of droids and cargo bikes at the JRC Ispra campus: A service design approach","authors":"Ioannis Karakikes , Athena Tsirimpa , Federico Moro , Vaike Fors , Amalia Polydoropoulou","doi":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101541","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101541","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In recent years, the levels of e-commerce in the modern commercial environment have significantly increased, necessitating the adoption of measures and policies capable of complementing each other to achieve a sustainable urban freight transport system. Beyond traditional approaches, a new array of automation-based technologies has been developed offering dynamic, and reliable solutions. This research designs a next-generation multimodal last-mile delivery system of lunch boxes at the JRC campus, in Ispra, Italy, based on a service design approach that embraces three dimensions of engagement in participatory design for sustainable change; scoping, developing and scaling. Analytically, the “scoping” phase focuses on establishing and operating a living lab as a platform for co-design, fostering dialogue, shared understanding, and iterative learning among stakeholders. The “developing” phase involves mapping the service through user journeys and service blueprints while integrating digital practices. The “scaling” phase focuses on co-developing cooperative business models that generate value, manage resources effectively, and foster sustainable, community-driven networks. The pilot demonstrated significant operational improvements (droids navigated 77 % autonomously and sender waiting time averaged 5.17 % of the total journey), while 90 % of users rate the service as satisfactory or very satisfactory. However, the financial viability remains highly dependent on sponsorships and grants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47810,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Economics","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 101541"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143790825","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transport emissions, carbon taxes, and modal choice","authors":"Misak Avetisyan , Wesley W. Wilson","doi":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101542","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101542","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Transportation is one of the major sources of anthropogenic emissions. Yet most environmental regulations target production emissions rather than transportation emissions. Within the transport sector, there are considerable differences in emissions intensities across modes. In this paper, we develop and estimate a multinomial logit model of consumer mode choices for non-local travel using the 2017 Household Travel Survey to consider the impacts of carbon taxes on mode choices and emissions. The model is specified as a function of trip cost, travel distance, and a variety of household characteristics. The estimates are then used to calculate the impacts of incremental carbon taxes from none to $150/tCO<sub>2</sub> on both modal choices and emissions. We find that there are mode shifts to more fuel-efficient modes along with reductions in emissions as taxes increase. We also find almost linear relationship between carbon prices and abatement of non-local transport emissions with the largest reduction observed under $150/tCO<sub>2.</sub></div></div>","PeriodicalId":47810,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Economics","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 101542"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143854930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Suprava Mishra , Agnivesh Pani , Ivan Sanchez-Diaz , Heleen Buldeo Rai
{"title":"Urban freight activity implications from emerging food industry establishments in an on-demand economy: Evidence from India","authors":"Suprava Mishra , Agnivesh Pani , Ivan Sanchez-Diaz , Heleen Buldeo Rai","doi":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101540","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101540","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban freight activity generated by the food industry has received surprisingly little research attention despite the unprecedented changes in food ordering behavior because of the advancement of technology. Not only did more consumers take advantage of the options offered online, but it also resulted in the diversification of the food industry into three establishment types: (i) in-person dining restaurants, (ii) hybrid restaurants, and (iii) dark kitchens. While the traditional in-person dining restaurants continue to be major freight trip generators, the emergence of tight-knit networks of small, delivery-only establishments called ‘dark kitchens’ have magnified the overall freight impacts from the food industry. This study attempts to contribute to this emerging research gap in urban freight research by conducting a freight survey in Delhi (India) targeting the above-mentioned food industry establishments to compare and contrast the evolving freight traffic impact generated by hybrid restaurants/dark kitchens relative to the traditional in-person dining restaurants. The freight generation (FTA/FTP) was quantified in this study using a host of models, such as the multivariate ordered probit model, zero-inflated negative binomial model, and hierarchical tree-based regression. Novel explanatory variables such as night-time light and cost of dining are explored for developing actionable, sustainable city logistics policies aimed at regulating delivery at pick-up traffic related to emerging urban freight generators.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47810,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Economics","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 101540"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143783151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhanced navigational insights and their impact on driver route choice: A hybrid utility-regret analysis with heterogeneity","authors":"Wenhao Li , Qinhe An , Yanjie Ji","doi":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101539","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101539","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Active Traffic Management systems provide traffic information to drivers, guiding their route selections to help ease congestion. Given the high reliance of most drivers on navigation, the effectiveness of how this information is displayed is crucial. This study considers the timing of information dissemination and display format attributes and explores the interaction effects between individual characteristics and travel traits. A survey involving 831 participants, consisting of Revealed Preference and Stated Preference data, is conducted in Nanjing, China. Using a mixed latent class model, the population is categorized into different classes based on their decision-making rules, while incorporating unobserved heterogeneity within segment-level models. We consider both Random Utility and Random Regret theories. Our study reveals that there are significant differences in route choice behavior influenced by demographic factors, with younger, higher-income, and frequent drivers favoring utility-maximizing decisions, and older, lower-income individuals opting for choices that minimize regret. Variations in adherence are observed when information is presented before, during, or towards the end of the journey. Excessively complex information may increase decision-making pressure on drivers. The parameter estimations are also conducted trade-off analysis across various exogenous variables. The findings inform the improvement of navigation applications, personalized route recommendations, and congestion pricing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47810,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Economics","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 101539"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143759745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"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 impact of the cost-of-living crisis on travel choices: The case of Scotland","authors":"Grigorios Fountas , Achille Fonzone , Adebola Olowosegun","doi":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101537","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101537","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aims to identify the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on travel choices of Scottish residents. Specifically, we examine possible changes in two dimensions of travel behavior: (i) mode choice; and (ii) number of trips. Using recent data (N = 2705) from the Public Attitudes Survey (PAS) of Transport Scotland, extensive statistical modeling was conducted in order to identify which population segments are more likely to change their travel mode and reduce the number of trips they make in response to the ongoing crisis. To control for possible unobserved heterogeneity effects that may underpin these two behavioural dimensions, the Bivariate Ordered Probit (BOP) framework was employed enabling the joint modeling of these two dimensions. The survey data showed that 26.1% of the respondents changed their typical mode of travel as a means to save money, and almost 28% of the respondents have exhibited a propensity to reduce their number of trips due to rising travel costs. The results of the BOP model showed that low-income households and ethnic minorities are among the most severely affected population segments, as they are more likely to change their travel mode and reduce their amount of travel. Women, people with health issues or disabilities, millennials, and residents in rural areas of Scotland also show evidence of behavioral change in light of the cost-of-living crisis. The findings of this study highlight major inequalities in transport accessibility, which will continue to deepen and result in higher levels of transport poverty, as the cost-of-living crisis unfolds, and appropriate remedial measures are not taken by legislative and governmental Authorities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47810,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Economics","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 101537"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143715355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jinpeng Wen, Hongcheng Gan, Ke Wang, Xinyu Wang, Yue Huang, Huan Lu
{"title":"The effects of face consciousness on young travelers’ intention to adopt mobility as a service (MaaS): A case study in Shanghai, China","authors":"Jinpeng Wen, Hongcheng Gan, Ke Wang, Xinyu Wang, Yue Huang, Huan Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101536","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101536","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite widespread interest in mobility as a service (MaaS), there is a lack of evidence regarding the potential impact of cultural values on its adoption intention. In this paper, we identify face consciousness as a key cultural differentiator in understanding the intention of young Chinese travelers under 40 to adopt MaaS. Based on 329 online survey samples in Shanghai, an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) was established to analyze the direct and indirect effects of perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PU), individual innovativeness (IN), subjective norms (SN) and face consciousness (FC) on MaaS adoption intention (AI). The results show that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, individual innovativeness and subjective norms have a significant positive impact on MaaS adoption intention, and face consciousness indirectly affects MaaS adoption intention through the mediating effect of subjective norms. Finally, this study discusses implications for market strategies and policy measures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47810,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Economics","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 101536"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143609300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Referential transit prices for users of reduced fare programs","authors":"Sergio R. Jara-Diaz, Diego Cruz, Felipe Tapia","doi":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101533","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101533","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Students, elderly, handicapped, and low-income individuals can apply for reduced fare programs (RFPs) in many cities worldwide. Such programs represent specific social preferences for those groups. However, prices in RFPs are always reported as a fraction of the so-called full fare, which is presented as society's willingness to favor those groups for whatever reasons. We argue that full fares are not the correct reference for comparison because special groups exhibit differences in how they use the transit system (e.g., different trip lengths, boarding times, or different occupation of vehicle space), which induces differences in <em>marginal costs</em>. By expanding the well-known one-line stylized transit model to admit different user types, we show that marginal cost fares depend on trip characteristics such as boarding-alighting times and/or average trip lengths. These group-specific marginal cost (first best) prices are proposed as the appropriate reference for comparison with the observed fares. This means that social preferences for special groups should be reflected by fares lower than the corresponding marginal social cost. This general theoretical framework is applied to elders and students using parameters from Santiago, Chile, where observed fares are lower than the full fare but higher than the estimated marginal social cost.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47810,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Economics","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 101533"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143580196","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Priyanka Paithankar, Maithreyi Vellimana, Kara M. Kockelman
{"title":"Impact of autonomous vehicles on long-distance travel mode and destination choices in Texas","authors":"Priyanka Paithankar, Maithreyi Vellimana, Kara M. Kockelman","doi":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101521","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101521","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Privately owned and shared autonomous passenger vehicles (AVs and SAVs) and autonomous heavy-duty trucks (ATrucks) are expected to one day be widely available across the US and other nations. This study extends Texas’ Statewide Analysis Model (SAM) to compare scenarios with and without AVs, SAVs, and ATrucks, while restricting empty AV and ATruck travel—only SAVs are allowed to operate without passengers. Results suggest that, on average, individuals are likely to choose more remote destinations, as seen by an 18% rise in (average ) long-distance (over 50 miles, one-way) business trips (from 121 to 142 miles) and 13% for non-business trips (from 135 to 151 miles). AVs and SAVs accounted for 14% of one-person (single-occupant) long-distance trips across Texas, contributing to a 17 percentage-point reduction in long-distance trips made by human-driven vehicles. For (one-way) person-trips between 50 and 400 miles, SAVs carrying 3+ passengers accounted for 14.4% of the total daily statewide (310 million) person-miles traveled (PMT), two-passenger SAVs made up 7.8%, and one-person AV trips represented 10.7%. In the freight sector, ATrucks were the preferred mode, handling 35% of freight ton-miles, surpassing rail at 24% and human-driven trucks (HTrucks) at 16% (vs 52% and 33% via HTrucks and rail, respectively, before the inclusion of ATrucks). Results suggest serious congestion issues if travel demand management measures are not implemented, with statewide daily VMT rising 24% (from 1.10 to 1.36 billion vehicle-miles) and distance-weighted average network speeds falling 37% (from 25.8 to 18.9 miles per hour).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47810,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Economics","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 101521"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143549352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Are past ownership experience and satisfaction major determinants of endorsement and future demand for zero emission vehicle technology when accounting for vehicle characteristics?","authors":"Hui Shi, Konstadinos G. Goulias","doi":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101535","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101535","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Considering the worldwide impacts of climate change, it is crucial to embrace sustainable transport alternatives in order to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. This study seeks to probe the impact factors of future vehicle choices and recommendations to other potential users. Specifically, clustering is first done based on vehicle attributes to group users' future vehicle intentions. Then a weighted multinomial logistic model (MNL) is developed to study the impact factors of people's future vehicle demand. Following that, three distinct models are evaluated to identify factors influencing consumer willingness to recommend three different zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) listed by the California Air Resources Board, namely plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), with past experiences (reflected by post-purchase satisfaction in this study) serving as mediators. Finally, the relationship between past experiences and future vehicle demand is discussed. Future vehicle choices are classified into four groups that based on fuel type, body size, vehicle addition or replacement, and desire for new or used automobiles. The results indicate that consumers who have experienced sustainable vehicles are more likely to continue to select them in the future. In terms of the impact factors of ZEV satisfaction and recommendation, PHEV owners are concerned about the costs associated with gasoline and electricity consumption at home. BEV users consider not just all of the aforementioned but also battery range and the availability of public charging stations. FCEV users value the convenience of refueling their vehicles.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47810,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Economics","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 101535"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143549351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What can empirical utility functions tell us about the value of a statistical life?","authors":"Rune Elvik","doi":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101534","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.retrec.2025.101534","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper explores how utility functions for income and health state can be applied in order to develop closed-form estimates of the value of a statistical life based on an assumption of utility maximisation. For utility functions fitted to the results of studies of life satisfaction in Norway, most estimates of the value of a statistical life are quite low, in the range of 2–30 million NOK. These estimates refer to reducing the risk of a traffic fatality, which currently is about 20 per 1 million inhabitants in Norway. These estimates are lower than nearly all estimates developed in a road safety valuation study made in 2010. By combining utility functions for health impairments and utility functions for income, it is possible to estimate the monetary compensation for a health impairment needed to restore the initial level of utility. These estimates can be extrapolated to obtain estimates of the value of a statistical life.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47810,"journal":{"name":"Research in Transportation Economics","volume":"110 ","pages":"Article 101534"},"PeriodicalIF":4.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143528789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}