Relative Energy Consumption of Transport Modes

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Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Insinööritieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis
Date
2012
Major/Subject
Liikennetekniikka
Mcode
Yhd-7
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
95 s.
Series
Abstract
When comparing the energy efficiency of transport modes the different spatial contexts and the resulting trip characteristics must be taken into account in order to bring about realistic and fair results. The objective of this master thesis is to find out the actual number of consumed energy and generated emissions per passenger on an annual basis using realistic load factors and mode choice scenarios in these different contexts. The results show that especially with modern private vehicles the energy efficiency and fuel consumption for autos is competitive with buses in rural areas where buses carry far less people on board than in urban environment. If, however, the private vehicle driving distances increase radically due to shifting to the more fuel efficient vehicles, the advantages of the reduction of emissions and fuel consumption on a per vehicle basis will be offset quickly. Furthermore, criticism of people as environmentally irresponsible citizens simply because they drive their automobile or other private vehicle is unwarranted. In rural areas, the bus exists not because it is better environmentally but because it fulfills a social need for mobility for those without autos. People who never drive in their home city may actually have the largest carbon footprint of anyone in their neighborhood if they do a large amount of long distance travel. The findings from this study argue for a more holistic and realistic approach to evaluating energy efficiency of particular lifestyles and for designing policy responses.
Description
Supervisor
Bruun, Eric
Keywords
passenger transport, energy consumption, greenhouse gas, load factor
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