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Embryonic dunes, continuous dunes and classical beach nourishment are tested as soft coastal protection measures in the vulnerable Trabucador barrier beach located in the NW Mediterranean Sea against different storm conditions. The beach was impacted by severe breaching events during past storms. Evaluation of the performance of the dunes and nourishment as coastal protection measures for the barrier beach is carried out using XBeach model for three different storm events: Storm Isaak being a mid-tier double peak storm, Storm Filomena a typical larger storm of the region and Storm Gloria the largest ever storm to hit the region, with 7, 12 and 60 years of return period respectively. The model showed embryonic dunes and shoreface nourishment systems greatly protect the beach against Storm Isaak and Storm Filomena but did not withstand Storm Gloria considering it being almost 1.5 times larger than the second-highest storm in terms of significant wave height. The study aids in assessing the effectiveness of various mitigation actions for barrier beaches, with the aim of implementing them in practical field applications., This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101037097 (REST-COAST project)., Peer Reviewed, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::13 - Acció per al Clima::13.1 - Enfortir la resiliència i la capacitat d’adaptació als riscos relacionats amb el clima i els desastres naturals a tots els països, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::13 - Acció per al Clima::13.2 - Incorporar mesures relatives al canvi climàtic en les polítiques, les estratègies i els plans nacionals, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::13 - Acció per al Clima, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::15 - Vida d'Ecosistemes Terrestres, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::15 - Vida d'Ecosistemes Terrestres::15.1 - Per a 2020, vetllar per la conservació, el restabliment i l’ús sostenible dels ecosis­temes terrestres i els ecosistemes interiors d’aigua dolça i els serveis que proporcionen, en particular els boscos, els aiguamolls, les muntanyes i les zones àrides, d’acord amb les obligacions marcades pels acords internacionals, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::15 - Vida d'Ecosistemes Terrestres::15.5 - Emprendre accions urgents i significatives per a reduir la degradació dels hàbitats naturals, aturar la pèrdua de biodiversitat i, per a 2020, protegir les espècies amenaçades i evitar-ne l’extinció, Postprint (published version)

Although autonomous delivery robots (ADRs) are widely anticipated to significantly enhance the efficiency of last-mile logistics operations in dense urban environments in the coming years, their impact on logistics service providers’ supply chains has yet to be accurately assessed on a large scale. The primary objective of this article is to quantify the uncertainty in the cost of ADR operations as a function of the stochastic behavior of given input variables. First, ADR operations are modeled using the continuous approximation methodology. The mathematical formulations proposed in this article relate certain ADR and service area input parameters to provide an estimate of the carrier’s last-mile operating costs. An uncertainty analysis based on the Monte Carlo approach is then performed. The numerical results indicate that the implementation of a two-echelon delivery scheme with heavy-duty vehicles cooperating with ADRs through an urban logistics micro-hub would, on average, reduce last-mile operating costs by more than 10% in small and medium-sized European cities, given adequate operational conditions., The first author would like to personally acknowledge CARNET Barcelona for the funding of this research article, developed in the framework of his PhD thesis. The participation of the second author has taken place under the METROPOLIS project, PLEC2021-007609, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR. The authors also acknowledge the comments of anonymous reviewers, which greatly helped in improving and clarifying the article., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Since the Ice Silk Road (ISR) was put forward, its development prospect has become the focus of academic circles. To study the influence mechanism of ‘fairness preference’ on the trade cooperation of countries along the ISR, this paper constructs the trade cooperation network based on the bilateral trade data of countries along the ISR, establishes the theoretical model of network game based on Rabin model, and uses the simulation method to test the model. The results show that: (1) the sense of national cognitive fairness does have an impact on the trade cooperation of the ISR; (2) the ‘eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth’ strategy is not an advantage strategy in the trade cooperation of the ISR; (3) the most significant factor affecting the trade cooperation of countries along the ISR is the neighbor node in the trade network and the social public opinion pressure of cooperation in the network., Postprint (author's final draft)

The newly opened Trans-Asian Railway offers opportunities for trade logistics between China and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). This study selected six factors including cost, time, transport volume, reliability, safety, and environmental friendliness to investigate the impact on logistics for trade between China and ASEAN. It explores the most ideal solution for the Sino-Thai logistics route by using the AHP-TOPSIS approach and ranks the current five Sino-Thai logistics routes. The results indicate that the Sea-land transport (0.787) is still the best option, the Kunming-Bangkok Roadway (0.452) came in second, followed by the newly opened Trans-Asian Railway (0.431); The Nanning-Bangkok Roadway (0.373) ranks second to last, and the river-land transport service (0.249) is the last resort. In this sense, the newly opened Trans-Asian Railway would influence the current pattern of Sino-Thai logistics to some extent. The results will offer insight into the managerial decisions for the Sino-Thai trade., The authors would like to thank the anonymous referees for their constructive comments on this paper. Their comments significantly improved the quality of this paper. This work was sponsored by National Social Science Fund of China [grant number 22AZD108], the Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 72271132] and National ‘“111”’ Centre on Safety and Intelligent Operation of Sea Bridges [grant number D21013]., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Platooning of connected automated vehicles (CAVs) on highways has attracted the interest of researchers, companies and administrations for years. This interest has yielded a vast literature on CAV platooning, which generally describes its benefits in terms of traffic efficiency, safety and environmental impacts, among others. However, the boundary conditions of these studies and the reported magnitude of these benefits vary greatly among the different contributions. In this context, this paper presents the result of a comprehensive literature review on CAV platooning on highways, organizing the existing research and establishing links between the different strategies proposed and their expected impacts. Starting points for future investigations are suggested, and the research gaps to be addressed are identified. The analysis performed shows that the current state-of-the-art has two major limitations. First, few CAV platooning strategies have been proven to be asymptotically stable, which should be a requirement for any feasible solution. Second, in most cases, the CAV platooning algorithms are simplistic adaptations from existing car-following models proposed for human driving that, therefore, unnecessarily transfer current traffic-related problems to future cooperative environments., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

The final authenticated version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-024-02521-y., Purpose. Motorcycles are one of the highly used modes of transport in Barcelona, Spain, in particular, and in many different regions, in general. This situation is compromising safety on the road and may be attributed to a potential increase in traffic crashes. Therefore, this study examines several risk factors and their consequential impacts on the level of injury that is resulted in case of a traffic crash. Methods. Two approaches are employed to analyze the risk factors, including a supervised learning technique which is a binary probit model, and an unsupervised technique which is the Kohonen clustering. Results. The results for both models show that alcoholism and road in poor condition can indeed increase the probability of having different levels of injuries as reasons for the crash. Elderly users are less likely to be involved in motorcycle crash injuries compared to other age categories, especially the age group that ranges from 25 to 40 years old which has the highest odds. For both techniques, the performance in analyzing the utilized data shows that both approaches can be successfully utilized for this type of dataset. Conclusion. This study highlights the considerable danger faced by motorcyclists due to various risk factors. It stresses the critical importance of maintaining roads in optimal condition not just for efficient travel but also to enhance motorcyclists’ safety. Additionally, the research underscores the significant threat posed by speeding, particularly exceeding speed limits, to motorcyclists’ safety, emphasizing the urgent need for more 30 km/h speed limit zones and stricter enforcement of speed regulations. As a result, the research has identified several risk factors that increase the likelihood of severe or fatal injuries among motorcyclists in Barcelona and has suggested certain recommendations to mitigate their impact., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been proposed as vectors for more sustainable mobility, the adjective “sustainable” being understood as the union of usefulness for society (i.e., efficiency), environmental friendliness, and economic viability. The realization of social usefulness implies a primary condition, which is AVs’ adoption on the part of the population. This paper is aimed at identifying factors contributing to society’s willingness to shift to two different AV implementations: as private vehicles or as the basis for public transportation systems. To this end, data collected from a survey were analyzed using exploratory data analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and ordinal regression. Safety-related variables as well as the a priori appeal of AVs turned out to be the most influential for the adoption of both solutions. Therefore, informative campaigns focusing on the safety benefits of AVs could boost the modal shift. Further research starting from these hypotheses and accounting for the limitations of the sample used could help to resolve remaining doubts., Peer Reviewed, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::10 - Reducció de les Desigualtats, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles, Postprint (published version)

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Journal of Simulation on 2024, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/17477778.2024.2304549., Agent-based simulation is a powerful tool that allows emulating the complex behaviour of individuals within a system in order to assess its global performance. In this context, this paper develops a modular agent-based simulation framework for being applied to vehicle-sharing systems. The modular structure of the simulator implies that each sub-system is treated separately, so that each module can be replaced or modified without affecting the others. In this way, the simulator can be used to analyse specific problems such as the optimal location of stations, the design of repositioning strategies, or different vehicle usage policies, by focusing only on the relevant module. The simulation framework proposed has been implemented and tested in the analysis of two different systems: a station-based bike-sharing system and a mixed (i.e., station-based and free-floating) car-sharing initiative. The paper shows some of the results obtained from such implementations as an example of its possible applications., This research has been partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Gobierno de España), grant number TRA2016-79019-R, through the doctoral scholarship BES-2017-081266. Authors also acknowledge the support of CARNET, the future mobility research hub, initiated by SEAT, Volkswagen Group Research at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in the promotion of vehicle-sharing research. Finally, the collaboration of Dr. Ramon Planas in the construction of the simulation environment, and the initial work of graduate 1 student Víctor Casado is gratefully acknowledged., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

El uso de la bicicleta como medio de transporte sostenible ha aumentado en todo el mundo, lo que ha llevado a numerosos estudios sobre la mejora del diseño y la gestión de los sistemas de movilidad ciclista. Proporcionar facilidades como carriles exclusivos, estacionamientos y servicios de bicicletas compartidas, es una forma efectiva de fomentar el ciclismo en las ciudades. Este documento presenta una investigación doctoral en curso, que ofrece un marco metodológico para identificar parámetros estratégicos para el diseño efectivo de sistemas de movilidad en bicicleta en ciudades con demandas de viaje espacialmente variables. El modelo propuesto utiliza técnicas de aproximación continua para determinar la longitud y el espaciamiento entre carriles bici, la ubicación y el tamaño de las estaciones de bicicletas, y el tamaño de la flota. Parla validación del propuesto modelo se presenta un ejemplo., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) technologies have the potential to disrupt and change intelligent traffic systems. CAVs have faster response times and can better grasp traffic conditions (in terms of speed, position, acceleration, etc.) with respect to humandriven vehicles. Consecutive CAVs can travel maintaining very short gaps (i.e. in a platoon) by using the Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control technologies readily available/implemented. The ability of CAVs to communicate with each other (V2V) and with the infrastructure (V2I) allows them taking collaborative decisions in order to maximize efficiency while ensuring a smooth and safe journey. In fact, CAVs platooning on freeways stands out as a collaborative management strategy with great potential. Various studies have been published regarding autonomous vehicles and platooning impacts on freeway traffic with a broad range of scopes, assumptions, results, and conclusions. The focus of this paper is to present the available literature on CAVs platooning, which is categorized into different groups focusing on platoon stability, road capacity, traffic safety, and energy consumption. There is common agreement that CAV platooning can have a positive impact on global road capacity and overall traffic safety and efficiency, but still, further research is needed on how to achieve these objectives., Postprint (published version)

El reposicionamiento óptimo en sistemas de bicicletas compartidas se basa en la estimación de la demanda esperada en las estaciones. Si esa predicción falla, la solución de optimización no será precisa. Por esa razón es recomendable desarrollar métodos de aprendizaje automático que utilicen datos históricos como insumos y devuelvan la predicción de la demanda con suficiente precisión. En este trabajo se comparan tres metodologías de aprendizaje automático con el fin de obtener predicciones de demanda de alquiler y retorno de bicicletas en estaciones. Los tres métodos han sido comparados en un caso de estudio basado en el sistema de bicicletas compartidas de la ciudad de Nueva York., Postprint (published version)

With recent advancements in the research and application of robotics, sensory devices, and Intelligent Transport Systems, autonomous vehicles are expected to become an integral part of the future transportation system. This paper focuses on developing a Car-Following (C-F) algorithm for a platoon of Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) in freeway traffic. The platoon C-F algorithm is modeled to achieve stability and safety making use of the Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) communications technology available. CAVs can travel at very short gaps between two consecutive vehicles with the Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) technology readily available/implemented. In this context, platooning stands out as a collaborative driving management strategy with great potential. From the existing literature, it is understood that there is limited research on platoon stability and safety in a CAV platooning environment. In this paper, we develop a microscopic modeling approach for the platooning of CAVs. The performance and stability of the platoon are analysed, showing that the C-F algorithm ensures stability with transient and asymptotic dynamic performance. Sensitivity and safety analyses are also done, proving that the resulting platoon of CAVs is safe in the most demanding traffic conditions., The authors acknowledge the support of Marcel Sala in the development of the python platform and for his invaluable inputs and suggestions in the development of this work. Special thanks to Margarita Martinez and Jaume Barcelo for sharing their knowledge throughout the progress of this work. This research has been partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Gobierno de España), Grant number J-02653 Platoon., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Este artículo presenta un modelo analítico para el diseño óptimo de un sistema de transporte, basado en una red de autobuses metropolitanos que conecta la ciudad con una malla reticulada Park and Ride (P&R). El modelo desarrollado en este trabajo introduce el concepto de redes acopladas, para definir la interrelación entre dos servicios de transporte, el de acceso a la ciudad con buses metropolitanos desde estaciones P&R y los servicios de transporte público locales que distribuyen los viajes dentro de la ciudad. Se formula un problema de optimización del coste total del sistema de transporte acoplado, cuya función objetivo integra los costes temporales de los viajes de los usuarios, así como los costes de infraestructura y operación del servicio asumidos por la agencia de transporte. Las variables de decisión que definen el diseño óptimo de la red son el intervalo de operación y el espaciado entre las líneas de la red externa e interna, así como el número de anillos de los aparcamientos externos, que condiciona la interacción entre las dos redes (acceso y local). Además, las idealizaciones geométricas empleadas se han ajustado para mejorar su versatilidad y adaptabilidad a diversas ciudades con diferentes limitaciones geográficas (por ejemplo, mar, montañas, etc.). El modelo se ha aplicado con datos a tamaño real del Área Metropolitana de Barcelona (España), y propone la construcción de 7 líneas de autobuses externas horizontales que conecten 42 P&R con la ciudad, con un intervalo de paso de los autobuses de 4.25 min en hora punta, y un total de 6 paradas por línea dentro de la ciudad., La participación de los autores de este artículo se realizó bajo el proyecto PID2020-118641RB-I00, financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033., Postprint (published version)

Este estudio se presenta un modelo basado en aproximaciones continuas para determinar bajo que escenarios pueden las agencias de transporte justificar la sustitución de servicios de autobús convencionales por transporte a la demanda (DRT). En el trabajo se evalúan los costes operativos incurridos por las agencias de transporte, teniendo en cuenta una demanda heterogénea en el tiempo, los efectos de la morfología de la red viaria y, en efecto, los factores que propician el serpenteo de la ruta puerta a puerta. Se utiliza como caso de estudio al municipio de Vallirana (área metropolitana de Barcelona, España), donde se cuantifica el potencial beneficio de un servicio DRT y sus economías de escala. Tras el análisis, los servicios puerta a puerta sólo presentan ahorros para la agencia en escenarios de muy baja demanda (menos de 1 pax/km2 -h). Para reducir costes, se plantea reducir la complejidad de las operaciones (alejándose del puerta a puerta) o reducir el tamaño del vehículo. También se presentan nuevos beneficios inmateriales que se pueden utilizar para justificar un aumento de costes, siendo la nueva fuente de datos y el aumento de calidad los más destacados por los operadores. En cuanto a las economías de escala, estas son muy limitadas ya que el crecimiento del servicio está fuertemente vinculado a una ampliación de la flota., La participación de los autores de este artículo se realizó en el marco del proyecto PID2020-118641RB-I00, financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. El primer autor también quiere agradecer a CARNET y especialmente a la Dra. Laia Pagès por sus útiles comentarios., Postprint (published version)

A voting process allows the participation of citizens in the decision-making of a country. In Chile, the voting system is only face-to-face at polling places. The assignment historically did not consider the location (trip origins or residence) of voters, causing several mobility problems on election days. In 2022, the situation changed with the georeferencing of voters; therefore, an optimal allocation of polling places considering their initial location, the mobility of voters, and the supply of urban transportation is a critical factor. The research aims to propose a spatial allocation methodology for voters that considers the distance between voters and the closer polling place under a sustainable mobility approach. The optimization model of the location-allocation type analyzes the location of voters, the distance between polling places and voters, the capacity and number of polling places, and the public transport supply. The model is applied to San Miguel (commune) in Santiago, Chile, where the assignment of the electoral roll is modified based on the distance to the available and necessary polling places. The results are evaluated using transport modeling software, comparing the proposed scenarios with the current one. This methodology reduces travel times for voters by 59.83% and the traveled distance reduction from 4,000 to 1,800 meters with respect to the base scenario. A methodology such as the one proposed makes it possible to improve the tactical planning of voting processes regarding the supply of polling places, public transport supply, accessibility, and others., Postprint (published version)

This research aims to identify and analyze the significant risk factors contributing to accidents involving fishing vessels, a crucial step towards enhancing safety and promoting sustainable practices in the fishing industry. Using a data-driven Bayesian network (BN) model that incorporates feature selection through the random forest (RF) method, we explore these key factors and their interconnected relationships. A review of past academic studies and accident investigation reports from the Fishery Mutual Insurance Association (FMIA) revealed 17 such factors. We then used the random forest model to rank these factors by importance, selecting 11 critical ones to build the Bayesian network model. The data-driven Bayesian network (BN) model is further utilized to delve deeper into the central factors influencing fishing vessel accidents. Upon validation, the study results show that incorporating the random forest feature selection method enhances the simplicity, reliability, and precision of the BN model. This finding is supported by a thorough performance evaluation and scenario analysis., Postprint (published version)

Cycling constitutes a clean, healthy, and low-cost mode of transport. Therefore, the promotion of cycling is currently one of the main goals of administrations around the word. Former studies have shown that safety perception plays a fundamental role in the acceptance of bikes as a habitual mode of transport. In this context, this research aims to determine which variables and actions can give rise to this feeling of safety and, therefore, collaborate in the modal shift towards a more sustainable mobility. For this purpose, different strategies have been developed in two different contexts, Helsinki and Barcelona, using two different methodologies, namely expert interviews and analysis of survey data. Particularly, the methodology of analysis used includes descriptive statistics and path analysis. Results point out that safety perception highly depends on trip purpose, as significant differences are observed for daily users compared to those who cycle for sport reasons. Demographic characteristics (age, gender, etc.) and use patterns are also associated with different perceptions of safety and different behaviors. However, for any cyclist, the quality of the available infrastructure significantly influences his/her safety perception. Thus, the provision of good quality and well-structured cycling infrastructure is the most important initiative to promote cycling., Peer Reviewed, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles::11.2 - Per a 2030, proporcionar accés a sistemes de transport segurs, assequibles, accessi­bles i sostenibles per a totes les persones, i millorar la seguretat viària, en particular mitjan­çant l’ampliació del transport públic, amb especial atenció a les necessitats de les persones en situació vulnerable, dones, nenes, nens, persones amb discapacitat i persones grans, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles, Postprint (published version)

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is the world's workshop and one of the most rapidly growing economic regions in the world. In the GBA multi-port system, Hong Kong, which is one of the world's largest shipping centres and once the leading port in the GBA, has experienced a continuous decline in recent years and has been successively overtaken by two other GBA ports (i.e. Shenzhen and Guangzhou). This paper explores the concentration, inequality, and competition of the GBA multi-port system during the 1972–2020 period from multi-faced perspectives. Results indicate that: 1) Hong Kong has witnessed an entire K-wave evolution, and 2) the evolution of the GBA multi-port system is a result of the asynchronous development stages of different GBA ports; 3) Missing the opportunity period of 2000–2008, the transfer of capital from Hong Kong and the Chinese “opening up” policy are the direct, the underlying and the root causes behind this evolution; 4) A tri-hub multi-port system has gradually taken shape in the GBA finally, in which Hong Kong is the second runner-up after Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The prospect of the Hong Kong Port would not be optimistic, and a negative impact of Guangzhou on Hong Kong could be expected in the near future. We recommend Hong Kong to carry out differentiation development with Shenzhen Port and Guangzhou Port and focus on international transhipment., Postprint (published version)

Ship-related marine oil spills pose a significant threat to the environment, and while it may not be possible to prevent such incidents entirely, effective clean-up efforts can minimize their impact on the environment. The success of these clean-up efforts is influenced by various factors, including accident-related factors such as the type of accident, location, and environmental weather conditions, as well as emergency response-related factors such as available resources and response actions. To improve targeted and effective responses to oil spills resulting from ship accidents and enhance oil spill emergency response methods, it is essential to understand the factors that affect their effectiveness. In this study, a data-driven Bayesian network (TAN) analysis approach was used with data from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to identify the key accident-related factors that impact oil spill clean-up performance. The analysis found that the amount of discharge, severity, and the location of the accident are the most critical factors affecting the clean-up ratio. These findings are significant for emergency management and planning oil spill clean-up efforts., Postprint (published version)

This study presents a methodological framework for determining the most cost-effective design parameters for bike networks in cities with heterogenous travel demands. The suggested model utilizes continuous approximation techniques to calculate the optimal length and spacing between bike lanes, determine the number and location of bike-sharing stations, and estimate the appropriate fleet size (number of bikes). Throughout the process, both user and agency interests are considered. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed model, an example is provided using data from the City of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Additionally, sensitivity analysis is performed to gain further insights into the impact of significant parameters on the network design. The results indicate that agency costs constitute a relatively small proportion of the overall network costs compared to user costs. This finding suggests that the initial investment in facilities has been amortized over time, highlighting the network's long-term viability. Moreover, the study demonstrates that an increase in demand does not necessarily require a corresponding increase in investment. To strike a balance, the model tends to offer a reduced number of facilities, such as bikes, stations, and kilometers of lanes per person, while simultaneously densifying the network to reduce user access times, resulting in shorter total travel times for users. The proposed optimization model serves as a valuable tool for urban planners, aiding them in strategic design decisions during the planning stage of bike mobility systems., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

The acceleration of global e-commerce brings an increasing environmental burden to urban last-mile logistics. Autonomous delivery robots (ADRs) have often been considered as an attractive solution to this challenge but, to date, their environmental impact had not been fully assessed. To fill this gap, a life-cycle analysis of two-echelon and business-as-usual distribution strategies is proposed in this paper. To model ADR production, primary data from an actual prototype is used. The mathematical formulation of the use stage is done using the continuous approximation methodology. Finally, some managerial insights are obtained. Two-echelon operations would generate between 60 and 130 gCO2-eq per parcel delivery depending on the considered operation scenario. The ADR fleet production and renewal are the biggest contributors to this total global warming potential (GWP). As a consequence, the three main leverages to decrease the GWP of an ADR-based two-echelon delivery scheme are an improvement of the ADR production processes, the maximization of the robot lifespan (both for mechanical parts and battery), and the optimization of delivery operations to minimize the robot fleet size., The first author would like to personally acknowledge CARNET for the funding of this research article, developed in the framework of his PhD thesis. The second author also thanks the funding by the DFG, German Research Foundation, under Germany's Excellence Strategy - EXC 2163/1 – SE2A. The participation of the last author of this paper was made under the project PID2020-118641RB-I00, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. The authors also acknowledge the comments of anonymous reviewers that greatly helped in improving and clarifying the paper., Peer Reviewed, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::9 - Indústria, Innovació i Infraestructura, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::12 - Producció i Consum Responsables, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::13 - Acció per al Clima, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No Contaminant, Postprint (published version)

Se espera que los vehículos automatizados y conectados (VAC) mitiguen las actuales externalidades negativas del tráfico rodado, por ejemplo, los accidentes, la contaminación y la congestión. Las razones detrás de estas expectativas son dos: primero, los errores humanos asociados tendrán menos peso; segundo, los VAC circularán según estrategias diseñadas específicamente para optimizar el comportamiento del tráfico. El platooning de VAC es una de esas estrategias, especialmente adecuada para el tráfico ininterrumpido en autopistas. Los platoons de VAC podrían mejorar en gran medida el funcionamiento general del sistema vial, ya que los vehículos en platooning podrían circular manteniendo distancias muy cortas y sin comprometer la seguridad, incluso a altas velocidades. Sin embargo, hay muchos factores y situaciones que deben considerarse para que el platooning produzca los beneficios esperados: la tasa de penetración de VAC, la configuración de la infraestructura, las condiciones del tráfico, la calidad de las comunicaciones, los requisitos para y efectos de la formación y disolución de los platoons, o su seguridad y estabilidad. Este artículo presenta un enfoque microscópico para la modelización de platoons de VAC en autopistas, abordando entre otros los factores anteriores, con el objetivo último de mejorar la capacidad del sistema. Presenta los algoritmos que se han de añadir al software de simulación existente para que se pueda considerar en él este tipo de conducción cooperativa. La bondad de la metodología se ha probado mediante su implementación en el software Aimsun Next y su aplicación a escenarios de tráfico mixto. El contexto de la simulación ha sido una carretera de circunvalación idealizada de tres carriles con una rampa de entrada y otra de salida. El platooning estaba restringido al carril más a la izquierda y se probaron tasas de penetración de VAC entre 0 y 50%. En este contexto, se ha demostrado que el platooning aumenta significativamente la capacid, Postprint (published version)

Historical time-series data of container traffic in ports are characterised by strong randomness that causes the time-series prediction performance to vary significantly. In this sense, the prediction accuracy differs as a function of exogenous variables related to port characteristics and the maritime shipping context. Thus, the measuring problem of a priori container traffic predictability (i.e., the ability of methods to predict port traffic variables) arises. Academia suggests that this predictability may be related to entropy as a measure of the information provided. This paper analyses the Sample Entropy (SampEn), as an indicator of the complexity represented by the container traffic time-series data, comparing it with the error metrics provided by a statistical prediction and an artificial intelligent method. The Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Back Propagation (BP) Neural Network are used to obtain the prediction performance of container port traffic in a data set composed of 20 Chinese ports and 5 selected international ports. Unexpectedly, the results indicate that the correlation between the SampEn and the prediction performance of the time series is weak. The complex ecosystem of the container shipping sector and the different port characteristics are suggested as the cause of this poor correspondence. Our findings help to understand the relationship between entropy and the predictability of time-series data in a sector (i.e. port traffic), which has not been explored before., The authors would like to thank the anonymous referees for their helpful comments on this paper. Their comments significantly increased the quality of this paper. We sincerely thank Prof. Zhongzhen Yang from the Faculty of Maritime and Transportation at Ningbo University and Prof. Jose A. Sanchez-Espigares from the Department of Statistics and Operation Research at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC-Barcelona Tech) for their valuable suggestions on the revision of this paper. This work was sponsored by K.C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University, China and 111 Project [grant number D21013] and the General Public Welfare Project of Zhejiang Science and Technology Department, China [grant number 2018LGF18E090005]., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

Recently, a new shared micromobility service has become popular in cities. The service is supplied by a new vehicle, the e-scooter, which is equipped with a dockless security system and electric power assistance. The relatively unregulated proliferation of these systems driven by the private sector has resulted in numerous research questions about their repercussions. This paper reviews scientific publications as well as evaluation reports and other technical documents from around the world to provide insights about these issues. In particular, we focus on mobility, consumer perception and environment. Based on this review, we observe several knowledge needs in different directions: deeper comprehension of use patterns, their function in the whole transport system, and appropriate policies, designs and operations for competitive and sustainable shared e-scooter services., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Water quality and pollution is the main environmental concern for ports and adjacent coastal waters. Therefore, the development of Port Environmental Management systems often relies on water pollution monitoring. Computer vision is a powerful and versatile tool for an exhaustive and systematic monitoring task. An investigation has been conducted at the Port of Palma de Mallorca (Spain) to assess the feasibility and evaluate the main opportunities and difficulties of the implementation of water pollution monitoring based on computer vision. Experiments on surface slicks and marine litter identification based on random image sets have been conducted. The reliability and development requirements of the method have been evaluated, concluding that computer vision is suitable for these monitoring tasks. Several computer vision techniques based on convolutional neural networks were assessed, finding that Image Classification is the most adequate for marine pollution monitoring tasks due to its high accuracy rates and low training requirements. Image set size for initial training and the possibility to improve accuracy through retraining with increased image sets were considered due to the difficulty in obtaining port spill images. Thus, we have found that progressive implementation can not only offer functional monitoring systems in a shorter time frame but also reduce the total development cost for a system with the same accuracy level., This work is supported by ECOBAYS project (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) funded from the Agencia Española de Investigación (Spanish Research Agency)., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Maritime transportation is the prevalent mode of transport for overseas freight, and it is frequently recognised as a relatively environmentally sustainable means of transport. However, shipping is still a substantial source of greenhouse gas emissions. We investigate the effect on fuel consumption and emissions when container ships are sailing below the design speed (i.e., slow steaming) as a strategy to minimise fuel consumption and costs. The estimation of ship fuel oil consumption is commonly based on the cubic speed¿power relation as a bottom-up approach. Nevertheless, the cubic relation could overestimate the impact of slow steaming on fuel consumption reduction and the emissions assessment. We compare real fuel consumption data and the consequent emissions with the results of assessing these parameters with the mentioned bottom-up approach. The analysis uses a set of container-ship slow steaming voyages, and the assessment is supported by speeds obtained from the Automatic Identification System (AIS). The exponential values obtained for the speed¿power relation range between 3.1 and 3.5, finding an overrating over 20% in all the cases analysed. Finally, we use a weather ship routing optimisation software to investigate additional emissions savings in the framework of ship-specific measures when weather ship routing and slow steaming are applied simultaneously., Postprint (published version)

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly affected our lives in many different aspects. Traffic, in general, and traffic crashes, in particular, have both been affected by the pandemic. This study, therefore, is conducted to examine the influence of the pandemic on traffic crashes different levels of injuries in Barcelona, Spain. Time-series analysis and forecast are both exploited to achieve the objective of conducting this study. The results show a dramatic drop in traffic crashes, especially during the state of alarm duration that was imposed in March 2020. All levels of injuries that resulted from traffic crashes have shown approximately 39%, 30%, and 36% reduction for slight, severe, and fatal injuries, respectively. Additionally, the impact of certain chosen risk factors is found to be the same after employing two exhaustive chi-square automatic interaction (CHAID) models. Male injured persons and the time of the day represented by evening and night timing are found to have higher probabilities of having severe or fatal injuries both before and during the pandemic periods. The two applied exhaustive CHAID models have proven their ability to provide interpretable results., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

This paper introduces a novel procedural modeling system for generating 3D highway models, leveraging real-world data inputs such as highway layouts and manual annotations of essential elements. Our highly parameterized system facilitates easy customization, including modifications to the number of lanes and other key features, broadening its applicability across diverse domains, from urban planning and transportation engineering to virtual simulations, This work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (AEI/PID2020-115734RB-C22). The whole team also wants to acknowledge the support provided by Side Effects Software Inc. in developing our work. Jose Ribelles was supported by Generalitat Valenciana (CIBEST/2022/139). Javier Taibo and J.A. Iglesias-Guitian were supported by Xunta de Galicia (ED431F 2021/11). Additionally, J.A. Iglesias-Guitian also acknowledges the UDC-Inditex InTalent programme and the Ministry of Science and Innovation (AEI/RYC2018-025385-I)., Postprint (published version)

Results are presented for new laboratory-scale numerical simulations of bi-directional stratified flows generated within an idealized trapezoidal sill-channel topography, focussing on the lateral (or secondary) flow structure across the channel both in non-rotating and rotating frames of reference. The simulations utilise the non-hydrostatic Bergen Ocean Model (BOM), a three-dimensional general ocean circulation model. The results from the BOM simulations are verified by large-scale experimental data obtained in the LEGI Coriolis rotating platform in Grenoble, within which velocity and density fields for bi-directional stratified flows were measured through particle image velocimetry (PIV) and micro-conductivity density probes, respectively. The BOM simulations reproduce the main dynamic flow patterns and structure of the large-scale exchange flows generated through the trapezoidal sill-channel, with the lower layer saline intrusion flux shown to reduce, due to partial blockage, as the upper freshwater flow is increased (i.e. net barotropic forcing). Non-rotational BOM simulations show upward (and downward) flow along the centreline of the trapezoidal sill-channel in the upper (and lower) layers, with symmetrical counter-rotating circulation cells forming both above and below the density interface. By contrast, equivalent BOM simulations within a rotating frame of reference show the secondary flow circulation in the lower dense water layer to be dominated by Ekman dynamics, while two co-rotating cells are formed in the upper freshwater layer above the inclined density interface. In these rotational cases, significant upward and downward velocities (i.e. strong upwelling and downwelling) are generated adjacent to the inclined sill-channel side walls (in comparison to non-rotating cases). This secondary flow effect may be especially relevant for exchange flows in estuaries, fjords, deep-ocean channels and sea straits, where the channel width exceeds the Rossby radius, Postprint (published version)

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in International Journal of Environmental Studies on 2023, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00207233.2023.2213131., Noise has not been much studied in relation to factors causing traffic crashes. This study has selected two neighbourhoods located in Barcelona (Spain) in order to examine the potential impact of total noise levels recorded in the city on drivers’ and pedestrians’ concentration, thus leading to a traffic crash. A logistic regression model is then applied to determine whether or not the hypothesis is true. The results show that areas with higher total noise levels may lead to traffic crashes and further investigations are required., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

Pedestrian crashes can be affected by different factors that can increase or decrease their possibilities of occurring and other consequences related to them, including the level of injury. In Barcelona, in particular, and in Spain, in general, several events happened during both the years 2020 and 2021. The first year had the pandemic and different events that affected the number of traffic crashes, similar to the following year, which had the introduction of applying the speed limit of 30 km/h inside the cities. Therefore, this study analyzes several risk factors related to pedestrian crashes during both the 2020 and 2021 years. A Bayesian network model is employed for this reason to determine the impact of those risk factors through these different years. This is done by calculating the conditional probabilities for the risk factors based on the applied model with determining the accuracy of the employed model in predicting the utilized data. The results show that elderly pedestrians are more likely to have severe or fatal injuries. The evening period shows higher probabilities of having pedestrian crash injuries compared to other periods of the day. Passage for pedestrians that are regulated by traffic lights is found to have a high probability of having severe and fatal injuries., Postprint (published version)

The risk of ship–bridge collisions should be evaluated using advanced models to consider different anti-collision and bridge-protection measures. This study aimed to propose a method to evaluate the effectiveness of active and passive safety measures in preventing ship–bridge collision. A novel ship–bridge collision probability formulation taking into consideration different safety measures was proposed. The model was applied at Jintang Bridge in China where the surrounding vessel traffic is ultra-crowded. We calculated the collision probability between the bridge and passing traffic using automatic identification system (AIS) data, Monte Carlo simulation, and Bayesian networks. Results under four different safety measures (i.e., active measures, passive measures, both measures and none) were analyzed and compared. The analysis concluded that both active and passive safety measures are effective in reducing the ship–bridge collision probability. Active measures, if deployed properly, can provide protection at an equivalent level than passive measures against collision risks. However, passive measures, such as setting arresting cables, are necessary in cases where the response time of the active measures is long. The proposed method and the results obtained from the case study may be useful for robust and systematic effectiveness evaluation of safety measures in other cases worldwide., Postprint (published version)

As for any other discipline, urban planning can only be considered sustainable if it combines care for the environment with the satisfaction of social needs and economic balance. Given that women make up almost 50% of the world's population, urban planning that neglects women’s needs is not sustainable. Numerous studies show that mobility patterns vary according to gender and are linked to people’s daily activities, which also depend, among others, on the economic and educational level. The other way round, limited mobility opportunities lead to some women’s restricted access to particular activities. This work aims to briefly explain existing inequalities and their potential solutions under different boundary conditions., Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::5 - Igualtat de Gènere, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::5 - Igualtat de Gènere::5.4 - Reconèixer i valorar les cures no remunerades i el treball domèstic no remunerat, mitjançant la prestació de serveis públics, la provisió d’infraestructures i la formulació de polítiques de protecció social, així com mitjançant la promoció de la responsabilitat compartida a la llar i la família, segons escaigui a cada país, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles::11.2 - Per a 2030, proporcionar accés a sistemes de transport segurs, assequibles, accessi­bles i sostenibles per a totes les persones, i millorar la seguretat viària, en particular mitjan­çant l’ampliació del transport públic, amb especial atenció a les necessitats de les persones en situació vulnerable, dones, nenes, nens, persones amb discapacitat i persones grans, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::5 - Igualtat de Gènere::5.1 - Posar fi a totes les formes de discriminació contra totes les dones i nenes a tot el món, Postprint (published version)

Results are presented for new laboratory-scale numerical simulations of uni- and bi-directional stratified flows generated within an idealized trapezoidal channel topography, as representative of net-barotropic exchange flows generated through sea straits between water masses with different densities. These simulations utilise the Bergen Ocean Model (BOM), a three-dimensional general ocean circulation model, both in non-rotating and rotating frames of reference. The results from the BOM simulations are aimed at simulating the large-scale experimental data obtained in the LEGI Coriolis rotating platform in Grenoble, within which velocity and density fields for exchange flows were measured through particle image velocimetry (PIV) and micro-conductivity density probes, respectively. The BOM simulations are shown to reproduce the main dynamic flow patterns and trends of the large-scale exchange flows through the trapezoidal channel, with the lower layer saline intrusion flux shown to reduce (i.e. due to partial blockage) as the upper freshwater flow is increased. These simulations represent preliminary numerical results and we expect that future simulations will improve overall representation of the interfacial region between the counter-flowing layers, and thus be relevant to many exchange flows generated in wide estuaries, sea straits and deep-ocean channels., Postprint (published version)

The ship's routing was adopted to organise marine traffic flow and reduce the risk of collision between ships in crowded waters. With the expansion of the world's fleet, ship traffic in shipping bottleneck and chokepoint areas became more and more busy and complex creating serious challenges for navigational safety. Therefore, quantitative collision risk assessment is significantly important for the ships' routeing waters. In this paper, the information entropy method which integrates the K-means clustering based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data is introduced to quantitatively evaluate the collision risks in the ships' routeing waters. As a case study, the information entropy of Courses Over Ground (COG) for Ningbo-Zhoushan Port (the largest port in the world since 2009) is calculated by using historical AIS data. Then the K-means clustering is used to group the bytes of information entropy of the different legs in the shipping route. We find that in Ningbo-Zhoushan port Precautionary Area (PA) 2, 4 and 7 are the highest risk legs; PA 1, 5 and 6, Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) 16, and 17 are medium-high risk areas. Therefore, ship collision risk prevention measures should be prioritised in those legs. Our contributions provide a novel approach to quantitatively assess ship collision risks in busy waters., Postprint (author's final draft)

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on container transportation. Accurate forecasting of container throughput is critical for policymakers and port authorities, especially in the context of the anomalous events of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we firstly proposed hybrid models for univariate time series forecasting to enhance prediction accuracy while eliminating the nonlinearity and multivariate limitations. Next, we compared the forecasting accuracy of different models with various training dataset extensions and forecasting horizons. Finally, we analysed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on container throughput forecasting and container transportation. An empirical analysis of container throughputs in the Yangtze River Delta region was performed for illustration and verification purposes. Error metrics analysis suggests that SARIMA-LSTM2 and SARIMA-SVR2 (configuration 2) have the best performance compared to other models and they can better predict the container traffic in the context of anomalous events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The results also reveal that, with an increase in the training dataset extensions, the accuracy of the models is improved, particularly in comparison with standard statistical models (i.e. SARIMA model). An accurate prediction can help strategic management and policymakers to better respond to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic., Postprint (author's final draft)

We describe the implementation of a comprehensive software for Ship Weather Routing referred to as SIM- ROUTE. The A* pathfinding algorithm is used to optimize the sailing route as a function of the wave action. The aim of the software is to provide a comprehensive, open and easy tool including pre- and post-processing for ship weather routing simulations. The software is constructed considering the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) wave predictions systems which are available for free use. The code provides the optimized route and the minimum distance route together with additional modules to compute ship emission and safety on navigation monitoring. SIMROUTE has been tested in several cases using different CMEMS products over short and long distances. The comprehensive structure of the code enables it to be easily modified to include additional ship wave resistance models and the effect of the water currents and winds on navigation. SIMROUTE is also used for academic purposes, providing skills for ship routing optimization in the framework of standards of training, certification and watchkeeping (STCW) for competence-based maritime education and training. Due to the simplicity of its use, SIMROUTE is a good candidate for benchmarking strategies and inter-comparison exercises with advanced methods for ship weather routing. This contribution highlights the technical aspects, code organization and structure behind SIMROUTE, demonstrating its capabilities through examples of route optimization., Postprint (published version)

Traffic accidents are still wide causation for fatalities around the globe. The set of alarm for this cause of deaths is still on, since the number of fatalities is still representing an enormous issue and a challenge for most governments. In Barcelona, similar to the rest of the world, traffic accidents are threatening lives and raising the need to lessen the number of both fatalities and severities. This study is conducted to grasp the correlations between different classification factors with accident severities and fatalities. A total of 47,153 traffic accident cases that occurred between 2016 and 2019 are utilized. Then, a binary probit model and Chi-square automatic interaction detector are exploited to grasp the impact of several risk factors. The results confirmed that males and 65 years and older injured persons are more exposed to severe or fatal injuries compared to other categories. Pedestrians and drivers are found to have higher probabilities compared to passengers in being involved in severe or fatal injuries. Weekends, afternoon, night timings all have higher odds of having severe or fatal traffic accidents. The findings of this study can help road authorities in targeting these risk factors to mitigate their impact to achieve Vision Zero., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

Current last-mile logistics operations are inefficient. The economic competitiveness of logistics service providers is affected by distinct factors, such as the limited time windows they are given to deliver freight in increasingly complex urban environments. This paper presents the different challenges that the sector faces to make its operations more sustainable, from both economic and environmental perspectives. Then, an exhaustive list of measures and initiatives is presented and for each of them, the impact on the different agents involved in last-mile operations is analyzed. This study is expected to help understand the relations between the different actors and design compensatory mechanisms between the parties that mostly benefit from the measures and the most affected ones. Finally, a particular focus is set on the technological developments that are expected to shape the evolution of last-mile operations in the medium or long term. As in the passenger mobility industry, digitization, the emergence of more innovative and modular vehicles, and automation are trends that will undoubtedly affect the market. To maximize the impact of these new technologies, balanced and fair governance schemes and compensatory mechanisms between agents should be designed. The authors believe that the EIT Urban Mobility framework is perfectly adequate to improve this required collaboration between all agents. As a first step towards an increased sustainability of last-mile operations, win-win and agreed measures should be implemented to set the ground for more innovative and disruptive solutions that will emerge in future years., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

La mobilitat, entesa com el conjunt de viatges en un territori, és una característica inherent a la naturalesa humana. Des de l’origen dels temps, totes les societats han volgut moure’s i viatjar, bé per trobar un lloc millor per viure-hi, per guanyar-se el pa, o per conèixer altres comunitats i relacionar-s’hi. L’adveniment de les tecnologies de la informació i de les comunicacions pronosticava la fi dels viatges. Res més lluny de la realitat. Pot ser que canviïn els patrons i els motius dels viatges, però les persones continuem i continuarem movent-nos., Postprint (published version)

Coastal bays and estuaries with aquaculture activity may show spatial variability on the exposure at river-borne substances such as nutrients, pesticides or pollutants. In function of the relative geographical position of the rafts and the meteo-oceanographic conditions, the rafts affection from freshwater plume may entail substantial differences. This work evaluates the river-borne affection substances in function of the acute and chronic perspectives. We based on the results of a set of a conservative tracer numerical experiment designed to cover a wide range of meteo-oceanographic conditions. The indexes are obtained for a shallow and micro-tidal bay (i.e. Fangar Bay) where the 3-D TELEMAC numerical model is implemented. The numerical model in Fangar Bay is calibrated and verified using “in situ” current meter data, lagrangian buoys and CTD profiles. The exposure assessment helps to understand the spatial-temporal variability of the dynamics within the bay and the conclusions may support the developing of sustainable aquaculture activities., The authors want to acknowledge the Ecosistema-BC Spanish research project (CTM2017-84275-R/MICINN-AEI-FEDER, UE) and ECO-BAYS research project (PID2020-115924RB-I00, financed by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033)andthe projects “Carrying capacity for shellfish aquaculture in Fangar Bay” ARP029/18/00008 and “Buffer zones in shellfish aquaculture” ARP059/19/00006; both funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and the Ministry of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agend., Postprint (published version)

This paper analyzes the new operations induced by the energy range limitation in battery electric bus (BEB) systems to ensure the service provision along the whole day. An operating model has been developed to estimate the number of resources to be deployed (extra vehicles and charging facilities) for two charging schemes: charging at bus garage facility and opportunity charging at on-street chargers. Firstly, the model calculates the entrance and exit time of buses in service assuming an unlimited battery capacity, caused by demand and headway variations in different time periods along day. Then, based on the previous results, the model estimates the moment when vehicles will run out of energy and proposes a charging schedule as well as new vehicle movements between chargers, bus garage and routes to maintain the targeted headway. Consequently, the model is able to calculate the number of resources needed and the total cost for a given route and battery size, allowing cost and performance comparison to diesel and hybrid powertrains. The estimated results in two bus routes in Barcelona indicate that the purchasing cost of BEB vehicles (670,000 euros/veh for articulated, 500,000Euros/veh for standard vehicles, both depreciated over a lifetime of 15 years), battery packs (231 Euro/kWh purchased, depreciated over a lifetime of 10 years), as well as the investment in chargers, are still high to clearly justify their cost-competitiveness against diesel or hybrid counterparts. Nevertheless, if the acquisition cost of both vehicles and battery pack are only reduced by 9%, the BEB technology may present cost savings for transit agencies. It only happens if the fleet size is as large as the corresponding to diesel and hybrid technologies. Opportunity charging is resulted to be more cost- efficient than charging at bus garage for small battery packs, routes with acceptable time headway adherence and, specially, when fast chargers are located very close to terminal stops. Neve, This research was partly developed within the ZeEUS project framework. ZeEUS was co-funded by the European Commission under the 7th Research and Technological Development Framework Programme (FP7), Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport under grant agreement n°605485., Peer Reviewed, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::13 - Acció per al Clima, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenibles, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No Contaminant, Postprint (author's final draft)

Barcelona (Spain) had a total population of 1,636,762 in 2019 that are distributed on 10 districts across the city. These districts have different characteristics in size and population density. As a result, this can lead to different traffic crashes injuries occurrences and numbers in these areas. Therefore, this study is attempting to determine the conditional probabilities for each district in order to identify the district that has highest number of injuries compared to other areas. A Bayesian network approach is utilized to analyze the dataset and identify the high-risk district alongside analyzing the varieties of traffic crashes during four-year intervals. The results have shown that the district that has the highest population, highest usage of private transport mode, and highest density of passenger cars per km2 (compared to all other districts), has the highest risk of having all types of injuries resulting from traffic crashes. For the temporal factor represented by the four years interval, traffic crashes occurrences varied from district to district based on the level of injury., Postprint (published version)

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are becoming a reality and may integrate with existing public transport systems to enable the new generation of autonomous public transport. It is vital to understand what are the alternatives for AV integration from different angles such as costs, emissions, and transport performance. With the aim to support AV integration in public transport, this paper takes a typical European city as a case study for analyzing the impacts of different AV integration alternatives. A transport planning model considering AVs is developed and implemented, with a methodology to estimate the costs of the transport network. Traffic simulations are conducted to derive key variables related to AVs. An optimization process is introduced for identifying the optimal network configuration based on a given AV integration strategy, followed by the design of different AV integration scenarios, simulation, and analyses. With the proposed method, a case study is done for the city of Uppsala with presentation of detailed cost results together with key traffic statistics such as mode share. The results show that integrating AVs into public transport does not necessarily improve the overall cost efficiency. Based on the results and considering the long transition period to fully autonomous vehicles, it is recommended that public transport should consider a gradual introduction of AVs with more detailed analysis on different combination and integration alternatives of bus services and AVs., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

This paper explores the factors influencing taxi travel in the context of COVID-19 from both demand and supply sides and provides a quantitative comparison of taxi travel characteristics and taxi industry operations before and after the epidemic. A model was established using system dynamics to simulate a taxi travel system, which was used to analyze the changes in demand and supply of taxi travel under scenarios such as closedowns, travel restrictions, etc. The analysis is based on a typical middle-sized city in China, Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, revealing factors leading to the significant drop in the amount of taxi travel due to the epidemic. The study can provide insights into impacts of public (or similar anomalous or catastrophic) events on taxi travel systems and could be useful for urban transport planning and management., Postprint (published version)

Customer demand is dynamic and changeable; thus, optimality of the enterprise’s initial location cannot be guaranteed throughout the planning period in order to minimize site selection cost and maximize service reliability in the whole operation cycle. The enterprise planning period is divided into different stages, and a static location model is established at the fixed stage. In addition, a multi-stage dynamic location model is established by introducing the transfer cost between adjacent stages. To reduce the difficulty of solving the dynamic location model, first, we determined the optimal site selection and allocation strategy for each stage. Second, we designed a novel method that transforms the multi-stage dynamic location problem into the shortest path problem in graph theory. Finally, the Dijkstra algorithm was used to find the optimal dynamic location sequence so that its cumulative cost was the lowest in the whole planning period. Through a case study in China, we compare the costs of static and dynamic locations and the location cost under different objectives. The results show that this dynamic location generates more income (as it reduces cost) in comparison to the previous static location, and different location objectives have a substantial influence on location results. At the same time, the findings indicate that exploring the problem of enterprise location from a dynamic perspective could help reduce the operating cost and resources from a sustainable development perspective., Postprint (published version)

A significant proportion of global carbon dioxide emissions are attributed to ocean-sailing ships and shipping emissions are predicted to double in less than 30 years. This paper investigates the benefit of using weather ship routing optimisation, assessing the ship emissions for minimum distance routes and optimised routes. A heuristic pathfinding algorithm is used to obtain the minimum cost (i.e. optimised route) in terms of sailing time, using high-resolution wave forecasting. The assessment of fuel consumption and ship emissions calculations were inspired by the STEAM2 bottom-up approach, in conjunction with the estimation of the power increase needed to overcome speed decrement due to waves. Several scenarios covering the Western Mediterranean Short Sea Shipping routes (from 24 to 600 nautical miles and using a real Ro-Pax vessel) are compared in terms of emissions between the minimum distance route and the optimum. The ship routing optimisation reveals a reduction up to 30% of ship emissions during severe storms on longer routes. Nevertheless, all the cases studied show emissions mitigation when ship routing optimisation is used. The expected increase of extreme weather events, in terms of frequency, intensity and duration due to climate change, suggests a gradual gain of implementing weather ship routing optimisation in all types of routes, regardless of the distance., Postprint (author's final draft)

The investment environment in port infrastructure appeared fluctuating in recent years, which threw more uncertainties and challenges in port Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Among ports in PPP, Dandong Port is the first case for port bankruptcy in China. In this contribution, the Interpretative Structural Model (ISM) is employed to investigate why the bankruptcy of Dandong Port happened and analyze the causes from different perspectives. The ISM-based model interprets the interrelationships among those causes and their positions in the structural hierarchy from high- to low-level. Results reveal that: (i) these factors ( i.e. the economy slowing down in the hinterland, ambitious port plan of local government and unprofessional top management) were the most direct factors to Dandong Port’s bankruptcy; (ii) these factors ( i.e. the economy slowing down in the hinterland, ambitious port plan of local government and unprofessional top management) were the most fundamental causes to this failure; (iii) these factors ( i.e. the ambitious port plan of local government, inappropriate strategic positioning, continuous expansion in port investment and unprofessional top management) were the most core causes for this collapse. Findings provide lessons to be learned from the bankruptcy for port PPP and offer managerial insight into port management policy., Postprint (author's final draft)

The phenomenon of "smart cities" generalizes the use of Information and Communication Technologies. The generation and use of data to manage mobility is a challenge that many cities are betting on and investing in. Through the Internet of all things (IoT) and the use of sensors and mechanisms for capturing information, the number of data analysis tools such as Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Augmented Reality (AR) has increased. With the constant use of assisted process learning (Machine Learning), it’s possible to improve event interpretation through the customization of learning protocols. Repetitively trained software can identify relevant events and report changes in critical scenarios that can trigger a series of protocols. The use of artificial intelligence techniques makes it possible to automate monotonous processes and improve transport management. This article analyzes different technologies used to generate transport information and data validation. It is intended to experiment with the use of technologies in the detection of relevant facts, changes of state, and identification of events. It also measures the reliability level when detecting events, and studies the implementation of possible solutions into the transport management system, in order to assist in decision making processes., Postprint (published version)

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is the most widely used tool for appraisal of transportation infrastructure projects, but there isn’t generalize guidelines about its implementation, there can be found different approaches that suit the perspectives of each evaluating entity. This document, it shows three different guidelines that used in practice for road transportation infrastructure projects, in which there are some different costs and benefits considered informing decision makers about the project appraisal. The costs and benefits with market values have been the predominant ones in the CBA, but there is a transition to use without market values, however, there are no generalized methodologies, so more research will be needed., Postprint (published version)