Environmental Impacts of Public Transport Systems

Dear Colleagues,

On a global scale, transport activity for both passengers and goods is growing rapidly. While many countries have a difficult time meeting the mobility needs of their urban population, increased attention has been directed towards sustainable transportation systems. Reducing the carbon footprint of the transportation system and consequently improving air quality in cities has become one of the main goals of governments facing with the onset of climate change. Public transport can make transportation eco-friendly and more sustainable in terms of resource expenditures, given that it accounts for only a fraction of total emissions. However, in terms of reliability, efficiency, modernizing and environmental impacts, public transport system itself has great potential for improvement. This Special Issue aims to provide readers with a comprehensive collection of the most recent work on topics related to the environmental impact of public transport systems. Specifically, the Special Issue focus on how urban mobility can benefit from various policies, methods, and solutions that promote sustainability by using and investing in public transport systems. In this Special Issue, we invite the submission of original research papers that specifically address the environmental impacts of public transportation, policy responses to those impacts, and their implications for the planning, operating, and management of public transportation systems.

The scope of this Special Issue is to cover state-of-the-art contributions on data analysis, model development, system optimization, transformation of public transport and policy design. It covers all aspects of the interaction between public transportation: planning, operation and the environment, from localized to multi-scale impacts for both urban and rural area. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its significant effects on public transportation, it is important to highlight the importance and benefits of public transport systems and especially their positive impacts on the environment, air quality, and public health. Topics of interest with a general focus on transportation sustainability include but are not limited to:

• Understanding the environmental impact of the integration between public transportation and new mobility services;
• Quantifying energy savings, environmental impacts, and economic benefits from public transportation systems;
• Modeling the relationship between land-use planning, public transportation system and the urban environment;
• Optimizing the efficiency of public transportation systems and energy-saving based on big data analytics;
• Modeling the impact of future public transportation system options, electric bus, smart shuttles, and demand-responsive systems;
• Modeling public transportation travel behavior and environmental impact.

Dr. Ahmadreza Faghih Imani
Dr. Mahmood Mahmoodi Nesheli
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Public Transport Systems
• Environmental impact
• Sustainability
• Management policies
• Smart Mobility