Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
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Paris
8.5.3
Innovative Transportation Systems and the Reduction
of Traffic Congestion
Renato De Leone
In recent years, public transportation has faced two important challenges:
to provide high-quality services that will satisfy the needs of end users and
to maintain the same costs or even lower them. To deal with these two con-
flicting objectives, new
innovative transportation systems
have been
devised and organized. By contrast, innovative transportation systems, such
as
car sharing
,
carpooling,
and
dial-a-ride
(DAR) possess a high level of
flexibility in responding to the requests of end users, and, at the same time,
produce a significant cost reduction [1]. Moreover, the use of these systems
also reduces
traffic congestion
and
environmental pollution
.
In a carpooling system [2], private cars are shared by a group of people
who travel the same route. The benefits of carpooling are different depend-
ing on the various subjects considered. With regard to public administra-
tion, the main benefits are in a reduction of air pollution and traffic conges-
tion. For companies or institutions promoting the system, the advantages
are in offering a useful service to their employees, in a reduction of the
parking areas, and in the consolidation of the corporate image. For the
users, there is a clear monetary advantage in addition to special services
that could be offered such as best parking lots, closer to their offices, or use
of specific route lines.
In the car sharing system [3, 4], a car is used by several people.
However, unlike carpooling, people use the car at different times and for
different purposes. The car is owned by a public or private company. This
type of service, while maintaining the advantages of a private car, allows a
significant reduction of the fixed costs since the single member/user does
not pay car property taxes or insurance, which are included in the car shar-
ing service. Very often, the shared car is a small electric car, thus reducing
environmental pollution. Moreover, users who car share may have addition-
al benefits such as entering at any time in a controlled traffic zone or the
use of dedicated parking lots.
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