APRÈN. Portal de la producció docent del professorat de la UPC

In the context of current's transition to more sustainable transportation systems, electric vehicles are presented as a potential solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoiding the dependence on non-renewable energy sources. The main objective with this project is to develop a predictive model to estimate energy consumption for a determined line in operation in Barcelona's metropolitan area and analyse its further applications in other real bus services. The proposed model is based on longitudinal dynamics formulation, which relates directly the forces acting on the vehicle to induce motion, with the energy expenditure. Moreover, the consumption of the auxiliary systems which allows the vehicle's commissioning, such as heat and air conditioning, electrical or steering mechanisms, will also be estimated according to literature re-view. On the other hand, battery electric vehicles contain a characteristic regenerative system based on braking periods, which contributes to energy system. The model will be based on a real database gathered from a particular BEB model of the line M30 in Badalona, during November of 2021. Some of the factors that will influence the energy profiles are related to the topography of the line, the demand period and level of occupancy, traffic state, or cruise speed, among others. The analysis of the results identified high correlation patterns between both real and predicted profiles, with an acceptable sizing of the total energy consumption, facts that provide feasible and reliable outputs to contribute to model's validation. These results not only are useful to estimate the total energy consumption in a sustainable perspective, but also to determine its economic impact with respect to fuelled-engine vehicles, in order to minimize operating costs. It may also provide valuable insights to optimize charging operations of the fleet, and study possible alternatives to increase state of charge during service.

San José, the capital of Costa Rica, has an inefficient and lackluster public transport system. It suffers from inefficiencies such as inconsistent schedules, congested bus stops, and a lack of coordination, leading to a heavy reliance on private vehicles to get around. Observing the current options in the country, there is much left to be desired in ways of transportation that do not involve a private vehicle. Other transport modes, such as metro and tram should be explored and compared to the existing ones, along with possible improvements to select the best option for the population. Utilizing different multicriteria methods, such as the weighted average method, the PRESS method and the ELECTRE method, the improvement on bus lines came out victorious when compared to the other alternatives with a significant margin. Out of all the alternatives taken into account, the improvements on the bus lines came out on top in every single method. The logistical and analytical aspect of the improvements have to be taken into consideration to produce the best possible product. Questions have to be raised and answered, concerning the function, maintenance, cost, public reaction, and many more pressing questions. Once scrutinized, macro-simulations of the current and proposed traffic models are produced in detail according to real data for the current model and improvements with justifications for the proposed model. Once explained, the models are compared in several areas, such as the number of kilometers they cover in a year and the total amount of costs that the network incurs yearly. This comparison clearly and resolutely dictates the proposed bus network superior to the current one, as every single aspect of comparison is greatly improved upon. In conclusion, the proposed bus network is cheaper and more accessible, when compared to the current scenario, which includes a much larger number of lines and vehicles that are not used to their full potential.

The increased freight activities in urban areas have intensified the problem of urban congestion, a challenge currently faced by many cities striving for sustainable urban goods distribution. To address the issue of urban congestion and enhance the efficiency, cost savings, and environmental impact of freight operations, various innovative measures have recently become the focus of research. In this study we focus on one of the such measures that evaluates economic and environmental benefits of demand pooling in freight transport. The thesis estimates the cost savings and environmental impacts of implementing a pooling strategy in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, within the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, by considering small businesses like pharmacies, retail shops. A comparative analysis is conducted among three scenarios: independent deliveries (Scenario1), and collaborative pooling strategies with depots at La Farga (Scenario2) and Gran Via 2 (Scenario 3).The findings reveal that a pooling strategy significantly reduces both transportation and external costs while improving environmental sustainability of freight operations. The study demonstrates that collaborative freight operations lead to more efficient logistics networks, reduced fleet sizes, and lower vehicle miles travelled (VMT). Among the pooling strategies considered in the scope of this study, setting up a depot at La Farga emerges as the most advantageous in terms of cost efficiency and environmental impact.

The imposition of tolls on roads is a way for public administrations worldwide to finance large road infrastructures. Present in Spain since the 1970s, it was not until 2018 that they began to revert to public ownership. Catalonia has had a higher percentage of toll roads compared to other regions, due to its economic development and the way highways were implemented in Spain. The reversion of most of these to public ownership between 2020 and 2021 provides an opportunity to study the effects of their removal, to contribute to the social debate around the pay-per-use of high-capacity roads. To this end, four different sections of toll highways in Catalonia, liberated between 2020 and 2021, have been selected, identifying their alternative toll-free counterparts. The study has been conducted around two main factors: the variation in traffic flows and accident rates. The traffic flow data used were obtained from the State Road Traffic Counting Network, while the accident data were provided by the Catalan Traffic Service. To conduct the comparative study, the years 2018 and 2022 were taken. This way, the situation before and after the toll removal is analysed, avoiding distortion due to the COVID-19 pandemic, concentrated in the years 2020 and 2021. Once the data were processed and grouped, an exploratory analysis was carried out to observe the variation in traffic flow and accidents on the highways and their alternative roads. The analysis was detailed by considering a series of parameters, such as vehicle size, accident severity, etc. A key finding of this research is the observed increase in total traffic flow in the study sections. This corresponds to a decrease in traffic flow on the alternative roads and an increase on the highways. The latter is partly explained by the capture of traffic from the alternatives due to the toll-free status, but also by the generation or capture of other traffic sources, i.e., induced demand generation.

The study carried out in this Final Year Project (TFG) examines the efficiency of electric buses through the analysis of real data. The focus is mainly on two Barcelona bus lines: H12 and H16. Through a detailed analysis of these lines, the study aims to understand the operational characteristics and performance metrics of electric buses compared to traditional Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses. Operational variables such as position, speed and energy consumption are examined. In addition, a cost analysis is carried out including fuel, acquisition, drivers, maintenance, infrastructure and emissions. The results highlight the advantages in reducing emissions of electric buses, although they have higher initial costs. The study concludes with the recognition of electric vehicle as an alternative for the present and future of mobility.

The objective of this master thesis is to study the resilience of a bus line in Barcelona, concretely H12, one of the longest and most crowded lines in the city. To do it, the method used is microscopic simulation, which is not commonly used in resilience studies. A simulation tool is built to replicate the behaviour of the line, with real data of the network. After that, the simulation tool is calibrated with data of real trajectories of the bus line, provided by the operator. Some scenarios are defined, all of them with a different type of incident which reduces the bus performance. The chosen indicators to assess performance are commercial speed and headway adherence, which directly affect the operator, and the in-vehicle and waiting time, which affect the passengers. Three different scenarios are successfully simulated. The first one simulates a lane closure in three sections, where both private vehicle and public transport have to share lane during 20 minutes. The results are that the commercial speed gets recovered in 150% of the duration of the incident. The headway doesn't get recovered, as in the other two scenarios. The in-vehicle and waiting time are increased by 5,4% and 10% respectively. The second simulates an excess of private vehicle demand in a roundabout, during 30 minutes. In this case, the commercial speed is recovered in 67% of the time of the incident. In-vehicle time is increased 8,1% and waiting time, 8,4%. The last scenario recreates an excess of passengers' demand, during 1 hour. The commercial speed here is not decreased as much as in the other incidents, the recovery phase is much shorter. On the other hand, this is the one where the effect for the passengers is higher, 14% of increase of in-vehicle time and 16% for the waiting time.

In several regions where public transport options are very limited, the existence of Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) is needed to make travelling collectively more attractive for residents and to increase the occupancy of each public transport vehicle. Implementing an optimal DRT system in a suitable environment is essential to ensure people's mobility demands are fulfilled efficiently. This thesis presents an analysis of different demand-responsive transit schemes compared to existing transit system that aims to solve transport inadequacy problem transpiring in low-density areas of Bergen, Norway. A brief study of DRT concept and its previous implementations is conducted as an initial guidance. The analysis is undertaken by analyzing mobility data of residents combined with demographic data to understand the city's travel pattern, followed by selection of potential areas where DRT should be applied to complete the analysis. An approach to devise a suitable model for this initiative is taken, putting each area's geographical and demographical properties into consideration. An option with the least cost is chosen for each area by having the development of automation and electrification for the buses considered. These scheme selections lead to construction of logit model to predict the demand in the future based on proposed fare system alternatives. According to the novel demand for DRT, the costs for each proposed alternative are recalculated to assess its future implementation impact to both stakeholders.

As authorities worldwide are cutting public transportation funds, finding cost-effective means to provide public transport in underserved areas has become ever important. One of such means is Demand-responsive Transport (DRT), a type of transport where supply is adjusted based on passenger demand. Although DRT schemes have existed since the 1960s, the rise of portable electronic devices like smartphones have enabled DRT schemes which can instantly respond to new passenger requests. These systems are classified as dynamic DRT, and while they can provide more tailored transport to passengers, these systems often become overwhelmed in higher-demand scenarios. To that end, semi-flexible DRT systems have been emerging, where only part of a vehicle trip can be adapted according to demand. In this paper, both dynamic and semi-flexible DRT models are compared with each other through a programme which simulates DRT model behaviour based on passenger requests. Using different stop density and demand level scenarios, it is assessed how well both models perform under these varying scenarios. Through the construction of relevant metrics, user and operator benefit are assessed, and recommendations are made which DRT model can best serve as a blueprint for affordable public transport in different types of areas. From the simulation results, it is determined that dynamic DRT systems are only feasible in areas with very low travel demand (between 4 and 8 trip requests per hour), and with a limited amount of bus stops where passengers can be picked up or dropped off. For higher demand levels, semi-flexible DRT systems perform better regarding pickup and drop-off time reliability and regarding the minimization of excess travel time for passengers.

Los servicios de bus son normalmente una buena alternativa al vehículo privado cuando se trata de moverse por un ambiente urbano, donde el aparcamiento muchas veces no está garantizado i donde los buses, mediante medidas que les favorecen, como por ejemplo carriles bus o prioridad semafórica, pueden a menudo evitar las congestiones de tráfico. No obstante, es bien sabido que las paradas que los buses tienen que efectuar a lo largo de su ruta limitan significativamente la velocidad comercial que este modo de transporte puede ofrecer, especialmente en líneas de alta demanda, donde los buses tienen que permanecer en las paradas durante períodos de tiempo más prolongados debido al tiempo que los usuarios necesitan para subir y bajar. La presente tesis aborda esta debilidad de los servicios de bus urbano evaluando su posible operativa con buses modulares autónomos (AMAs), los cuales estarían formados por cápsulas con una capacidad para 15 pasajeros. Se propone un servicio que pretende eliminar las paradas intermedias que, en un servicio convencional, los pasajeros experimentan a lo largo de su trayecto dentro del bus, y esto se realiza incorporando los conceptos de modularidad (las cápsulas se pueden acoplar y desacoplar entre sí) y transbordo en ruta (los pasajeros pueden cambiar de un pod a otro mientras están en movimiento). Así pues, este estudio intenta determinar en qué situaciones un servicio prestado con AMAs podría ser más eficiente que el convencional con buses regulares, teniendo en cuenta tanto la perspectiva del operador como la del usuario. Para conseguir este objetivo, el estudio se divide en tres bloques. En primer lugar, se propone un marco de modelización común, a partir del cual se construyen los modelos para los cuatro servicios a comparar (dos convencionales y dos con AMAs). Por simplificación, se adopta un enfoque determinista. Finalmente, se implanta un procedimiento de optimización del intervalo de paso (la separación temporal entre dos buses consecutivos) y el espaciado (la distancia entre dos paradas consecutivas) con el fin de adoptar siempre el escenario que represente el menor coste para el sistema. En el segundo bloque se evalua el comportamiento de los costes y el efecto de tres parámetros potencialmente relevantes. Se constata que los servicios propuestos con AMAs empiezan a ser más óptimos que el convencional a partir de unos 1000 pax/h, un umbral de demanda que augmenta a medida que la velocidad de crucero (la velocidad promedio a la cual los vehículos circulan, teniendo en cuenta solamente los efectos de los semáforos y el tráfico) disminuye. Finalmente, se determina un coste de compra de las cápsulas de 380.000 e/veh como límite por debajo del cual un servicio con AMAs prevé siempre una reducción del coste del sistema respecto al servicio convencional actual. El tercer y último bloque finaliza el estudio con una evaluación sobre 10 líneas de la red de bus de altas prestaciones de Barcelona. Las líneas con más demanda se identifican como aquellas en que una operativa con AMAs supondría reducciones importantes en el coste del sistema (hasta un 17%). Se prevé un aumento de la velocidad comercial de los 16 km/h actuales hasta los 24 km/h con la innovadora operativa propuesta, lo que se traduce en tiempos de trayecto medios significativamente más bajos para los usuarios (reducción de hasta 8 minutos en las líneas H8, H12 y D40). Finalmente, la tesis concluye con un resumen de los resultados más relevantes que han sido obtenidos, a la vez que también se incluye un apartado que repasa algunas de las limitaciones del estudio y posibles vías de mejora para futura investigación

Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) is a type of transportation that can be either public or private and, in contrast to conventional services that aim increase ridership, DRT adapts to the demand to provide maximum coverage in the service area. Previous studies have shown that this technology is justified when service demand is low. However, when there is an increase in demand the total cost of the system increases, even over the total cost of the traditional fixed-line bus system. This occurs because the travel time of each passenger increases due to the increase in stops. This might be handled by growing the fleet of vehicles operating, but this has consequences for the operational cost of the system and the environment. In response to the limited resources that transport operators may have, a fleet-dependent model is derived from an existing headways-dependent model of DRT. Through the analysis of economies and diseconomies of scale, this thesis explains which are the factors that make the costs of a DRT service increase, for a headway-dependent model and a fleet-dependent model. At the same time, it explains the methodology to find the critical demand where the system becomes more expensive and the optimal occupancy that a DRT vehicle should carry in order not to increase the travel time of passengers. The externalities produced by several types of vehicles of various capacities were calculated. The ideal capacity from the previous analysis, as well as the social and environmental costs of operating various cars, were used to obtain the optimal vehicle fleet sizes for a DRT operation. Finally, as a case study, three DRT lines in Sant Cugat that were previously evaluated in the MultiDEPART project where EIT Urban Mobility was part of, were analyzed. From this, the critical demand, optimal occupancy, and externalities generated with two different types of vehicles of different dimensions are calculated.