Data Analytics: Paving the Way to Sustainable Urban Mobility

Worldwide, pedestrians make up close to half of all motor-vehicle related fatalities but disproportionally little of the research in Information Technologies (IT) in general and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in particular has aimed at pedestrian safety improvements. This paper analyses and compiles three different ways so that IT and ITS can be used in order to improve mobility and safety of pedestrians in urban spaces: (a) for contacting and/or being localized, (b) for guidance (leading/navigating), (c) for alerting or informing of a danger.The aim is to categorize recent experiences where ITS can improve pedestrians’ mobility and safety so that new ideas based on ITS will be developed. These new ideas will better meet pedestrians’ functional quality needs today as well as in the future in a society with an aging population and aging infrastructure. This is very important for a society where people will not accept high fatality risks. The most important developments are described with links to websites in which one can gather more information.Target groups of this paper are professionals working in the field of traffic planning; practitioners, planners and researchers.

Trip generation rates provide essential information in the transport planning process and especially in the land-use transport interaction models. Among the general population, university students form a specific group of people which is characterized by increased mobility rates. In the framework of this paper, the results from a survey concerning the trip generation rates of the students of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh), Greece are presented and discussed. The main university campus which is located in the city center, covers an area of around 430000 m2 and serves thousands of students on a daily basis. AUTh is actually the largest university in the country. A face-to-face questionnaire-based survey took place during spring 2015 and a number of 595 questionnaires from the students of AUTh was collected. A sample of 1% of the population of students from each one of the nine (9) Faculties of AUTh, which were examined in the research, was collected during the questionnaire-based survey. A total number of nine (9) questions were included in the questionnaires, aiming at the determination of the trip generation rates in the University campus. Linear regression analysis was used in order to construct a trip generation model. This model shows that trip generation rate almost equals to two daily trips per student. Four (4) models with dummy predictors were also constructed, using linear regression analysis, to describe the percentage distribution of the sampled population that made the trips throughout the day. Furthermore, data concerning the mobility characteristics of the university students are also presented in the framework of the paper. The results are expected to add some knowledge to the scientists involved in the design and implementation of a sustainable transport plan in the wider area of a University campus.

Driving behavior plays an important role in road safety and it is under investigation by researchers worldwide. In the framework of this paper an attempt is made to gain insight into safe driving behavior with the use of a questionnaire-based survey. One hundred and forty car drivers participated in the questionnaire-based survey that was conducted during 2015 in the city of Thessaloniki. The questionnaire consisted of thirty two questions grouped into four sections. The sections addressed different issues in the scope of Road Safety, Sustainable Mobility and Traffic Psychology such as aggressive driving toward other car drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, attitude toward the use of the bicycle and of the cyclists in general and drivers’ personal values that potentially influence their driving behavior. The questionnaire also included a section about drivers’ Road Safety awareness and information, driving experience as well as their socioeconomic characteristics. In this paper, the variables derived from the survey are presented with the use of descriptive and inferential statistics.

A traffic study for the seafront area of Paphos was carried out in 2009. The most important measure included in that study was the partial and seasonal pedestrianization of the coastal avenue, which was implemented a few years later. However, the constant increase of the city tourism over the last years, has generated new conditions in the area, imposing an “update” of the proposals made in the context of the 2009 study. In fact, the area is characterized by traffic congestion and environmental deterioration, illegal parking, problems in pedestrian movement etc. In this paper, an assessment of the present situation is made, leading, among other interventions, to the proposal for a full and permanent pedestrianization of the coastal avenue. The existing traffic conditions in the seafront are examined on the basis of the results of traffic volume measurements conducted in four crucial intersections in the area, during morning and evening peak hours, in winter and summer. Moreover, the residents’, shop owners’ and tourists’ opinion concerning traffic and environmental conditions, problems and corresponding needs, as well as the possibility of a full and permanent pedestrianization of the seafront are taken into consideration, through a detailed questionnaire survey. Finally, other measures and policies complementary to the pedestrianization are proposed, in order to complete the original redesign of the seafront area of Paphos.

This paper aims to evaluate urban transport sustainability in the city of Xanthi through the development of an aggregate weighted index as well as to propose an action plan towards sustainable mobility. The proposed aggregated index is based on 30 indicators that assess the sustainability of the environmental, economic and social components of urban mobility. The indicators were calculated by: (a) conducting a public opinion survey on the quality of urban transport system based on a sample of 67 citizens, (b) performing spatial data analysis with geographical information systems and (c) studying the approved local spatial plans and transport studies. The weighting technique used considers the relative significance of the selected sustainability indicators with respect to 18 transport experts’ opinions, which is expressed in a seven-point Likert scale. The sustainability indicators were used to perceive the deficiencies of the urban transport system and to provide the basic guidelines of an action plan to enhance sustainable mobility. The impacts of the two different policy scenarios were simulated using the weighted index: (a) the «Short-term scenario» where only partial improvements could be achieved and (b) the «Long-term scenario» where the action plan could achieve optimal results in the study area.

The aim of Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory (GLOSA) systems is to assist individual vehicles approaching an intersection with speed advices (either as single target speed or as complex speed-distance relation) in order to fulfill a given objective. Common objectives include the minimization of fuel usage, emissions and/or delay. The literature provides a wide selection of GLOSA-algorithms addressing different aspects of a real world application, like surrounding traffic, fixed time or actuated traffic lights and mode of communication. However, previous research usually addressed only a subset of possible aspects. Therefore, our goal is to investigate how the existing algorithms hold up in a scenario under largely realistic conditions. We measure the performance (in terms of overall fuel usage, carbon dioxide emissions and delay) of the different GLOSA-algorithms and identify potential shortcomings.

This paper aims to evaluate the level of spatial accessibility of the new urban rail systems in the city of Thessaloniki, that is the metropolitan network under construction by Attiko Metro S.A. and the proposed tramway lines by Thessaloniki Public Transport Authority. Accessibility measures constitute a suitable planning tool for assessing the spatial impacts of transport scenarios, the transport networks connectivity and the land use transport interactions. In this research, location-based measures were applied, such as the integral, the isochronic and the potential accessibility indicators. The 2011 population census data in reference to the city block level and the origin-destination travel time data between the 68 future urban rail stations (simulated by GIS software) were used to calculate the relevant indicators. Thus, population accessibility was measured rather than opportunity accessibility, which is the usual research practice, due to the lack of adequate employment or land use data at the city block level. Nevertheless, the results can be interpreted as the potential attractiveness of the new urban rail stations. The analysis outlines the connectivity weaknesses of the proposed Metro and Tram system and therefore the direction for possible improvements on the urban rail network spatial coverage.

Tracking cyclists and walkers may open a new window of opportunities for urban planning and policy and become a relevant part of cycling and walking planning and policy processes in the near future. Within the development of the project “TRACE – Walking and cycling tracking services”, parallel to different apps and initiatives that promote behaviour change, a new tool was developed in order to improve planning and decision-making processes: TAToo – Tracking Analysis Tool. This tool aims to transform the available tracking data of cycling and walking trips into relevant data, by map-matching the GPS trajectories with the network and calculating a set of key performance indicators (KPI) for nodes, links, areas and origin-destination pairs. Volume, number of trips, average speed, level of service and congestion are some of those KPI. TAToo may use both cities’ maps or export one from the open-source platform OpenStreetMap, and is also ready to deal with cities’ own zoning systems. This paper presents a description of TAToo development and usage, its potential of application to help cities or transport authorities to support their decisions related to the cycling and walking infrastructures, and presents examples of different analyses possible with the results from the tool.

Road accidents form a leading cause of death globally. Despite the recent progress that have been made, Greece continues to be among the worst performing countries in the EU, in respect to road safety. This research deals with the spatial analysis and modelling of road accidents, in the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki, Greece. Total accidents pertained to be the dependent variable whereas various land use, demographic and macroscopic traffic modelling data were considered as explanatory variables. As required, the model inputs were aggregated to the TAZ level. First, a properly specified OLS model was developed, followed by the application of the GWR method. Unlike OLS models that are considered to be global, GWR allows the relationships modelled to vary over space, in line with spatial non-stationarity of social processes. This latter approach, improves the goodness of fit statistics of the OLS model and is helpful for policy-making at a local scale. A number of interesting correlations have been found, between accidents and a variety of statistically significant factors, such as the number of leisure establishments, pedestrian volume and length of particular types of roads. The GWR model built, uncovered the spatially varying relationships, dictating specific areas where these explanatory variables are strong or low predictors of the dependent variable.

In this paper data from the 2006 Urban Atlas are used to analyze the relationship between urban form and the length of the road network. Urban Atlas includes information on the land use in every city block of the 305 largest cities in EU. The length of the road network (highways, other roads) is estimated from the UA data and road availability indicators are introduced. Various urban form characteristics are estimated from the UA and reported for 5 different European regions (UK & Ireland, Scandinavia, Central Europe, East Europe and South/Mediterranean countries) and 5 different city size groups. Urban form characteristics and population densities differences are reflected in the road availability indicators. The results of a correlation analysis between road availability indicators and the various urban form characteristics are reported. A regression analysis is performed and the results show that the road indicators are a function of urban form characteristics.

Started in 2011, the “Città Studi Campus Sostenibile” project (CSCS), promoted by Politecnico di Milano and Università degli Studi di Milano, is aimed at turning the common university district in a model for quality of life and environmental sustainability. One of the topics of this project relates with transport and sustainable mobility.In this framework, during the last three years, the Sustainable Office of the University, in collaboration with the university mobility manager, carried out two surveys on mobility and commuting, among students, professors and administrative staff. In 2015 were surveyed about 12.000 people and about 14.000 in 2017, respectively 27% and 24% of the total population of each year.Through the analysis of the data of the last survey, we firstly provide a description of the current mobility patterns of the university population, then we calculate CO2 emissions from mobility activities to access Politecnico campuses. In order to estimate CO2 emissions of every trip, we utilize local emission factors for each transport mode. Previous studies evidenced how this component accounts for more than 40% of the total emissions of Politecnico di Milano.Lastly, in order to identify in which context policy packages, aimed at increasing the modal share of sustainable transport modes, are more effective and efficient in reducing CO2 emission, we analyse a set of scenarios involving both different territorial contexts inside Lombardy region and different campuses population.

The development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has influenced transportation management in multiple ways. The application of artificial intelligence techniques has gained ground lately in many scientific sectors. In this research, artificial neural network models were constructed in order to predict data about the road accidents in the study area. Several parameters were taken into consideration in order to optimize the predictions and to build the optimal forecasting model such as the number of the neurons in the hidden layers and the nature of the transfer functions. A Feedforward Multilayer Perceptron (FFMLP) was utilized, as it is considered as one of the most suitable structures for time series forecasting problems according to the literature. The optimal prediction model was tested in the study area and the results have shown a very good prediction accuracy. The road accident predictions will help public management to adopt the appropriate transportation management strategies.

Modern roundabouts are a type of intersection which is used successfully in many countries globally due to their advantages. More specifically, it is widely accepted that owing to their geometrical and operational characteristics the roundabouts enhance traffic capacity, cause an important reduction in delays and improve the road safety levels, for the benefit of the users. Moreover, their formation assures not only financial benefits, but environmental too, compared to other junction types, like signalized intersections. The engineering society launches research projects to develop guidelines for the assessment of such facilities in order to improve them. As a result, the concepts of level and quality of service have been introduced. The Level of Service (LoS) evaluates the traffic handling ability of a transportation facility and it is estimated by the use of specific techniques. The Quality of Service (QoS) assesses the performance of a transportation facility, as the drivers and the users perceive it. In this paper, the meaning of Quality of Service (QoS) of roundabouts is examined. A questionnaire’ s survey aimed at collecting data from users in Greece, regarding the factors that affect drivers’ satisfaction, during their driving through a roundabout. The results of the survey show that the quality of service perception on urban and rural roundabouts is influenced by several factors, such as the clarity of road signs, the presence of on-street parking, the lightning etc.

Measuring traffic flow by employing vision-based detection suffers from several challenges, particularly the illumination variation. Consequently, this research focuses on solving traffic detection problem due to both sudden and gradual illumination changes. A number of theories are proposed to define different components of an image. Specifically, first-order model for illumination variation and Fourier series for incorporating traffic arrival patterns are considered to define background and foreground, respectively. We have utilized these definitions to formulate the traffic detection problem and subsequently three adaptive dynamic background models have been developed to solve it. The third model that incorporates both luminance and pollution controlling parameters fixes the problems and limitations faced by the first and second models. Besides, a new per pixel binary threshold model related to the third model is also developed for foreground segmentation. Using a real video dataset, a constrained optimization is performed to determine the optimal values of model parameters, where the feasible regions of the parameters are obtained graphically. The model validation using a separate video dataset shows more than 95% Percent Correct Classification (PCC) value and around 90% Precision and Recall values. Additionally, a field test is conducted in three different locations and the performance of the model is evaluated. Evaluation shows that, the model achieves the highest value of 93% in terms of Average Accuracy of Object Count (AAOC) for urban arterial dataset, which represents its robustness in object detection.

Public transport network organization should allow efficient and comfortable transfers in interchanges, but these infrastructures are often associated with high pedestrian flows and constraints on pedestrian movement, which discourages their use. The analysis methods for the performance of public transport interchanges are usually based on aggregate values, which may result in highly optimistic results. However, the development of microsimulation tools provides a generous amount of data, allowing the development of new ways of measuring these infrastructures’ performance. Based on the idea that using average values should lead to optimistic results, and using data from the Colégio Militar/Luz subway station (in Lisbon), new indicators related to the level of service using microsimulation tools are suggested, proving that there can be different conclusions about the interchange’s performance.

This paper presents a methodology for a better assessment of transport variables used for the estimation of external costs by using FCD data. It is based on the estimation of performance spread factors able to expand to the whole day the peak hour results usually carried out by transport and impact models. The application to a real-size test case in Rome showed the promising results of the proposed approach.

This paper deals with the problem of estimating daily mobility flows using different sources of data, and in particular from mobile devices, such as mobile phones and floating car data. We show how mobile phone data can be used to better estimate the structure of the demand matrix, both temporally (i.e. the daily generated flows from each zone) and spatially (i.e. distributing the flows on the different OD pairs). Then, floating car data together with traffic counts can be used to further distribute the demand on the available modes and routes. During this phase, a behavioral modelling approach is used, according to traditional dynamic user equilibrium using a joint route and departure time choice model. Floating car data information is used to estimate speed profiles at all links where information is available, and for route travel times, which feed the utility-based models. A two-step approach is then proposed to solve the problem for large scale networks, in which the total demand is first generated, and then equilibrium is calculated through a dynamic traffic assignment model. The effectiveness and reliability of the proposed modelling framework is shown on a realistic case study involving the road network of Luxembourg City and its surroundings, and is compared to the traditional bi-level formulation solved using the Generalized Least Square (GLS) Estimation. The comparison shows how the two-step approach is more robust in generating realistic daily OD flows, and in exploiting the information collected from mobile sensors.

One of the measures that can reduce the negative effects of road accidents is the quick arrive of emergency vehicles to the accident area. This measure requires an effective location in space and on time of these vehicles. This location can be decided after an analysis of the available data in order to find the spatial and temporal characteristics of road accidents.The study presented in this paper uses time series accident data of the 15 districts of Rome Municipality, collected in four months in 2016. Results show that such analyses can be a powerful tool for identifying the temporal and spatial structure of road accidents in urban areas and that relevant differences exist in temporal patterns among different districts and types of road users. Further, such outcomes can be used as inputs to decide the optimal location on the urban area of mobile emergency units.

The proposed model is based on the developed approach to perform the routing assignment stage in the classical four-stage urban planning procedure. Demand for trips is generated for each stop of a public transport system on the grounds of stochastic variable of the time interval between passengers arrival to the respective stop. After defining of the destination stop, the route for the passenger’s trip is determined with the use of Dijkstra’s algorithm within the frame of a public transport network which is presented as a graph model with stops for vertices and route segments for edges. Transfer nodes are defined in the model as such graph vertices which are common for at least two lines of the public transport system. The author presents a class library implemented with the use of the Python programming language. On the basis of this library, the model for simulations of demand for transfers within the given public transport system was developed. The proposed approach to the demand modeling and the developed software were used for simulations of demand for transfers within the bounds of the public transport system of Bochnia (Poland).

Illegal parking, particularly in urban areas, can cause severe delays and contribute significantly to traffic congestion. The main objective of the present work is to assess, using microsimulation modeling, the impacts of the phenomenon of double parking along an urban axis. A case study of an urban axis of the city of Thessaloniki, that daily serves heavy traffic, with a dedicated bus lane, is presented. Two different scenarios are modelled; one where only legal on-street parking along the axis is considered and a second one, representing the actual situation, where also a number of double-parking events are modelled; and the interaction with the traffic the axis serves is studied. Data on vehicle speed, average travel time, delay and stopped time are compared and the results show that all traffic indicators are affected by the phenomenon of double parking. Additionally, energy consumption and emissions of air pollutants are also compared to assess the impacts of double parking on the environment. The findings assist in quantifying the impacts of double parking, highlighting the importance of enforcement and measures aimed at reducing and eventually eliminating illegal parking, in order to improve traffic conditions and the quality of the atmosphere along the axis and consequently upgrade the quality of life of its residents, employers and travelers.

Improving the efficiency and environmental friendliness of transport is one of the main directions of transition to a low-carbon economy. The conducted researchers have shown that to implement the concept of transition to sustainable “green” transport, it is necessary to improve management in all subsystems of the transport system. Some of these ways are (1) the improvement of vehicles’ fleet management, such as the use of low-carbon, energy-efficient vehicles, timely fleet renewal, (2) optimization of the route network, road infrastructure and (3) the full use of vehicles’ capacity. We have built an original simulation models of the road network’s sections. As the input data we have used the data received from the field observations of traffic flows. Optimization experiment allowed us to determine optimal parameters of traffic flow, configuration of the route network and road infrastructure.

The last decades the phenomenon of urbanisation has led to crowded and jammed areas, which makes life in cities more stressful. Thus, there is a high interest in the field of Intelligent Transportation Systems in order to prevent the traffic congestion. The most common way to prevent this phenomenon is with the use of short-term forecasting of traffic parameters, such as traffic flow and speed. Nowadays, the accuracy of the estimations has increased significantly due to the use of the latest technological advances, such as probe data in combination with machine learning techniques. Probe data is a type of crowd-sourced data collected from individuals, including vehicles, passengers, travellers or pedestrians. This paper focuses on the data processing component with the use of neural networks, for predicting traffic status in urban areas based on the relation between traffic flows and speed. As a case study is used the traffic status in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. In this case, data is aggregated after the collection phase, which gives a better representation of the mobility patterns in the city. Two types of test were performed. The first one shows the results of the prediction of eight sequentially quarters of the time, while the second test provides the prediction four steps forward of the date time. The results of both tests provide accurate predictions.

This paper aims to assess the walkability of Thessaloniki, Greece, via individuals’ perceptions about the influence of the environmental factors of functionality, safety, aesthetic, and points of interest on their pedestrian behavior. The survey’s participants were 117 men and 152 women, from 15 to 78 years old, who came from 12 municipalities of the greater Thessaloniki area. The participants responded to a questionnaire which was based on valid and reliable previous respective questionnaires and walkability audits. The questionnaire was formulated on an online Internet platform and the data were collected in October 2017. The results revealed a variability of the assessment results among the different municipalities of Thessaloniki. Since the data were analyzed on the detailed level of postal codes, many differences were also found even between different postal code areas. Almost all areas were found to be insufficient in terms of functional characteristics. The suburban areas suffer from lack of pedestrians’ facilities, while urban areas from many obstacles on the existing facilities. In contrast, the proximity of points of interest was found to be very satisfactory. Regarding the safety of the pedestrians’ environment, it was perceived as of medium level whereas it was higher in the Thessaloniki city center. The pedestrians reported dysphoria from air pollution, mostly in neighborhoods with high density and vehicle traffic. Dirty pavements, lack of greenery, and ugly buildings bother citizens while walking. The findings are discussed with respect to practical implications in urban planning and people’s quality of life.

This paper aims to examine the extent to which student population of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) is familiar and uses smartphone applications for the facilitation of their trips. To reach the final results and draw the respective conclusions, three main methodological steps were followed.The first step includes the literature review, where a number of reports and papers were thoroughly examined for the better research’s topic understanding.The second step was the design of the questionnaire and the conduction of the survey. Based on the studied bibliography, a questionnaire which consisted of three main sections was designed in such way for drawing as much useful information as possible. Afterwards, the questionnaires were distributed and answered by AUTh students.The final step was the statistical analysis of the results of the survey. The extracted data from 300 questionnaires were encoded and imported in the IBM SPSS Statistics software for descriptive statistical analysis. In the framework of this research, it was possible to identify the extent to which university students use the smartphone applications about transportation. In addition, the frequency of use of the applications as well as the usefulness of these applications was examined. Moreover, the results revealed the smartphones applications’ prospect to change and shape mobility behavior. The findings suggest the great extent to which mobile applications on transportation are used and the role they play to make university students’ trips easier and more efficient.

Though mobile phone use is considered a risky behavior while driving and it is even illegal in most countries, it is still very common to see drivers talking or texting, ignoring the fact that they are behind the wheel. According to literature, more than 80% of mobile users under the age of 30 are members of at least one social network and questions arise on whether and how social media affect driving behavior.In this paper, questionnaire answers from 113 Greek drivers are analyzed in order to estimate if young people use social media when driving. Participants provided demographic information, such as sex, age and income, driving characteristics, such as years of driving experience and kilometers traveled per day and information related to smartphone use and social networking activities while performing driving tasks, such as status update, photo uploading or texting. Participants were also asked about their opinion on how phone use affects their driving skills, as well as their willingness to use an application that would turn off their phone while being behind the wheel.Results show that although the majority of them think that their driving performance is affected by smartphone use, less than half were willing to use a “phone-off” application and more than 50% tend to interact through social media, more or less frequently. Results are also statistically analyzed, with regard to differences between men and women, group ages and other personal characteristics.

This paper aims to present and compare two methodologies in order to gather data from residents and visitors about their mobility behavior in the urban environment: crowdsourcing and visual research. These methodologies were used in two Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) in the medium-sized cities Kozani and Drama in Greece. Public input proves to be efficient in recognizing problems, proposing priorities and describing detailed proposals towards achieving desired aims. Results show that the issues that were recorded through the applications of visual research were also perceived by the inhabitants, through the ideas they proposed. It was also found that residents are focusing on concrete proposals, mostly realistic, sometimes presenting a specific spatial reference. On the other hand, public participation in the crowdsourcing platform was low. Combining the two methodologies proves to be effective towards raising public input validity.

In the last ten years, huge advances in detecting trends methodology have been spotted in particular in Europe. Trend represents a fundamental change over an extended period, i.e. associations that are defined by crossing contextual borders. They are phenomena that are always complex and whose lifespans can only be measured inaccurately. Trends, whose implications are reflected on the whole or almost entire society, are called megatrends. The objective of this paper is to define the key megatrends affecting the future passenger and freight transportation system through review and analysis of the transport reports and studies on the global level. Megatrends commonly elaborated in the majority of literature sources will be identified. It indicates a convergence to those that are most important for the future development of transportation processes.

The ITS market is changing rapidly shaping the near future of a brand new world. This paper aims to provide an understanding of this ever-changing world, analysing current markets, trends and initiatives which will eventually contribute in developing new business models and incentives in order to accelerate the ITS deployment in Europe.The paper provides a general ITS market watch including an overview of the market and it identifies the current needs and trends of ITS solutions. In addition to this, the research is based on four case studies both in terms of market analysis and stakeholders’ analysis.

During the past four decades, there has been an increasing body of knowledge examining the positive effects of pedestrian mobility on individual health, sustainable development and social inclusion. In parallel, tactical urbanism, referring to an approach to neighborhood building using short-term, low-cost, and scalable interventions and policies has been manifested since 2010 an emergent trend in large cities across the world. Tactical urbanism is ‘tactical’ because it is driven by deliberate and organized processes; it is a form of ‘urbanism’ because it assigns uses to the urban space. Inspired by this trend, the purpose of this paper is to explore the processes and undertakings behind the tactical urbanism activities of the “Union for the Rights of Pedestrians” (PRU), a Non-Governmental-Organisation (NGO) in Thessaloniki. The method followed includes the following steps: (i). Literature review about the role of tactical urbanism and pedestrian mobility for urban development (ii). Case study analysis by means of five structured interviews with members of the PRU that organize and participate in the organisation’s tactical urbanism initiatives, and (iii). Development of conclusions and policy recommendations for improving the effectiveness of tactical urbanism in Thessaloniki.

Urban designs and sciences are always in contact with the industrial design with urban furniture being an embodiment of this relation. Due to the changing dynamics of design and technology, there is an invisible relation shift between those disciplines. Industrial design is expanding to interaction, interface and service design, and urban design changing as the management of data created by the city. As a result, two areas are crossing again as data-generating city and data-processing industrial design and at the middle of that: the new urban furniture.Observing and estimating tendencies on that re-formation and dissolution, require research on progresses of both urban and product design disciplines. This paper shall describe an approach to the relation of information systems and industrial design through urban furniture.

Social media are considered as a major communications channel for information exchange, opinion statement, social network enabling, decisions influencing and business promotion. New activities can be triggered by web friends and followers, as a mutual trust on choices is developed during peoples’ interactions on social media. Visited places, attended events, bought merchandise that are disseminated on the web turn into possible attractors for others to visit, attend and buy, thus affecting individual’s travel preferences and behavior. The impact of social media in travel/mobility decisions is the main objective of this paper. A digital questionnaire was formulated to investigate the degree of social media usage in terms of type of information searched, reached and shared, time of information and purpose for which the information was created. The final sample size comprised 237 users and was grouped according to gender (women-men) and occupation (students - full-time job). In addition, statistical analysis results that were based on this grouping are included and further described in this paper.

The increasing demand for urban mobility in modern cities leads to traffic congestion and other environmental and societal impacts, requiring a shift to more sustainable mobility behavior. However, travelers are not well informed about the possible sustainable modes and their advantages, as traffic education is often limited to learning traffic rules. To raise awareness on sustainability, various techniques may be used, such as designated educational programs, training sessions, seminars and campaigns. Acknowledging the spread and popularity of social media, the aim of the paper is to investigate how a shift in behavior towards more sustainable modes of transportation may be affected by a digital campaign. The coherent production of a successful sustainable urban mobility campaign is a complex task and requires a thorough understanding of the general needs of those affected. Firstly, the paper reviews and analyses previous campaigns and strategies related to sustainable urban mobility implemented in European countries. Analysis includes the organization, which was responsible for initiating the campaign, the time period, theme, scope, target group and type of approach. In those cases, that evaluation of the campaign was conducted, impacts on attitudes and behavior are also identified and the success attributes of the campaigns are selected. In the context of further research, an on-line questionnaire survey was carried out for the identification of travelers’ preferences and attitudes towards innovative strategies that raise awareness in sustainable urban mobility, promoted and supported by social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.).

Over the past 40 years, the number of people using bicycles as their primary means of transportation has increased significantly. Transportation agencies around the world now promote bicycling as a way to reduce pollution and traffic congestion. However, the lack of bicycling infrastructure in many cities could significantly impede the future growth of bicycle usage. This paper used a web survey to evaluate the attitudes and preferences of bicyclists in two cities: Lexington, Kentucky, USA and Catania, Sicily, Italy. The goal of the survey was to document impediments to bicycling in both cities, determine how infrastructure could be improved. Descriptive statistics and test of hypothesis were applied to the survey data to analyze participant responses and their level of agreement. Confirming previous research, respondents in both cities overwhelmingly cited lack of infrastructure as a major obstacle to bicycling more often. Respondents indicated that improving bicycle infrastructure and pavement conditions would result in an increased number of bicycle trips. While the survey findings lend support to the idea that bicyclists around the world harbor similar attitudes about what improvements are needed to increase cycling and enhance their experiences, local conditions and practices also influence perceptions about the relevance of specific issue.

Students’ behavior and perceptions at pedestrian crossings is investigated in the framework of the present paper. The research concerns five pedestrian crossings at signalized intersections which are located in the road network around the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. A total number of 500 questionnaires addressed to students using the specific crossings were collected during spring 2013. In addition, counts concerning pedestrian flows were made as well as pedestrians’ observations regarding their distraction while they were using the crossing. Moreover, traffic data, such as volume and free flow speed, used for the statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics used in order to describe pedestrians’ behavior and views towards the specific pedestrian crossings, while inferential statistics aim to identify pedestrian crossings’ characteristics and pedestrians’ characteristics which affect their habits and perceptions. Statistical analysis concludes with the development of a binary logit model which aims to quantify the impact of specific parameters on pedestrians’ opinion about the sufficiency of green light duration.

The paper analyzes possible changes in people’s urban mobility, understanding if and how the evolution of behaviours in connection with the ICT innovation and/or evolution, the development of digital tools (Internet, smartphone and transport applications) could facilitate travel practices. Our research field is the “Nouveau Mons” district within the European Metropolis of Lille (MEL) which has undertaken significant changes thanks to the national policies of urban regeneration. We analyze the articulation of its inhabitant’s mobility within and outside the district (daily travel: work, school, shopping, etc., or more punctual movements: holidays, leisure …) and new consumption practices (Internet, Drive …). We consider their consequences in terms of development at a neighbourhood scale (offer of shared mobility, delivery points for urban freight), development of active transport modes (walking and cycling) facilitated by the short distances to be travelled in this neighbourhood that is very well innervated and served by public transport. We have conducted interviews with representatives of the city and realized focus groups with the “Nouveau Mons” inhabitants or workers.

In recent years, multimodal mobility and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) have emerged as fundamental concepts in several professional sectors. This trend comes with a wide number of sector-specific technical and functional requirements, including for example delivery time and location in the construction sector, strict in-time delivery for sensitive materials in the healthcare sector and lower transportation times and overall costs in the logistics sector. In this context, this paper introduces a study towards developing ProMaaS: a platform concept developed to open and extend existing mobility services and technologies by addressing multimodal cross-border mobility issues through the lens of sectorial business approaches. This conceptual solution aims to facilitate the daily mobility of professional drivers in Luxembourg, which due to the country size, has an exceptionally high volume of business-related commuting needs from and to neighbouring countries (e.g. to meet partners or to visit customers).

Each traveler moves across the physical plane to perform activities. It is known that each trip connects two distinct activities. Travelers, during their trips, make various choices in order to decide mode, route and time of departure. These choices depend on factors that are either predetermined or emotional. Other factors such as existence of various events can also affect the choices of the travelers. During the last decade, information related to the factors mentioned above, are addressed through the social networks. The amount of information provided in the social media is important and crucial in addressing the way travelers move around. On the other hand, understanding and, more importantly, predicting activities is a crucial matter in order to predict traffic conditions as well as to provide improved trip advice to travelers.The present paper studies the possibilities and capabilities exist in order to proceed to transport modelling techniques by deriving information from the social media status updates of the users. More specifically the study reviews methodologies and techniques that can collect information from the users’ status updates in order to estimate their preferences.In the present study the development of a methodology which integrates the gathered information from the social media status updates with stated activities’ preferences is being investigated. The review takes into account the social computing paradigm where humans and machines collaborate to solve a social problem. Also, multiple data sources are examined in order more integrated results to be returned.

The purpose of this paper is the development of selection criteria, as well as a respective selection methodology, between full pedestrianization and the reconstruction of an area to a woonerf type traffic calming zone. The criteria which characterize a pedestrian area as such and a woonerf type traffic calming zone as such were collected. The processing of the criteria followed as well as their comparison. The criteria based evaluation of the alternatives may lead to a decision in case they do not meet one of the alternatives. Otherwise, e.g. in case the criteria meet both the alternatives, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method may be used for the selection of the best solution. This main idea led to the development of a methodology that is presented in this paper. Initially, a theoretical approach to the problem took place and 22 AHP questionnaires were completed by engineers of various disciplines regarding the problem, in order to draw general conclusions regarding the importance of the selected criteria. In order to test the proposed methodology in a specific case, it was applied in a case study at the Municipality of Ampelokipoi-Menemeni, Greece, where 11 AHP questionnaires were completed by residents and shopkeepers of the examined area. The results show that the proposed methodology could be a valid solution to a contemporary problem that many local authorities face.

The road transport accounts for 73% of the CO2 emissions of transport sector in EU and constitutes one of the main sources of pollution and negative environmental implications. In the dynamic environment of urban areas, traffic flows are still a challenge since they apply substantial influence on the related generated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions affecting air quality and health impacts on citizens. This study quantifies the environmental effect of traffic flows using the case of Amfissa, a medium sized city in Greece. The aim of this paper is to measure the environmental impacts of traffic flows on the city’s central road network in terms of emissions and air quality. On-site measurements are conducted to compare the environmental effects of “normal traffic” with “zero traffic” flows in the city center. The findings reveal that GHG emissions resulting from traffic flows are significant even for medium-sized cities. As such, zero or limited traffic zones, where no or limited private vehicles are permitted, could be a possible measure for CO2-free cities deploying more sustainable and ecological ways of transport in the city center (i.e. electric vehicles, R-vehicles, etc.). The results are analyzed in the context of Amfissa’s urban sustainable plans and current debates surrounding the pedestrianization actions in the city center and the challenge of reconciling environmental sustainability with urban and traffic growth.

The Athenian Strategic Plan for Sustainable Urban Mobility (SUMP) aims to support the most efficient ways of daily commuting towards mitigating limited public spaces, pollution and delays, while increasing individual cycling use and bike sharing services. Bicycle is a major issue in terms of promoting and implementing a robust urban mobility strategy. Improvement of existing infrastructure, development of new networks and specialized lanes, adaptation of the traffic code, awareness raising and integration of technology are among the key aspects of such a strategy. The inclusion of an integrated and coherent cycling network in the Athenian SUMP is the fulfillment of a key strategy, aiming at the development of cycling policies and infrastructure within the overall priorities of a SUMP (i.e. promotion of walking, cycling and public transportation). The promotion and integration of cycling as a bold commuting mode could address a range of mobility problems, making Athens’ transportation environment equivalent to other European capitals’ that are healthier, functional, safe, productive and attract residents, visitors and investors. This paper presents the methodology of designing the Athenian cycling network, within a new concept of mobility management promoting coexistence rather than the conventional separation standards, while at the same time adjusting vehicle speeds in the various street types. Several elements regarding road safety enhancements are reported, as well as the specific terms of introducing cycling in the current network and bus lanes, sidewalks and pedestrian streets. Lastly proposals regard the supplementation of the existing traffic code and other institutional issues of cycling.

The purpose of the paper is the comparative assessment of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions footprint caused by vehicular traffic on the area of affected roads of the new Athens Metro Line 4A during the first year of operation phase. Two scenarios examined comparatively for CO2 emissions, with a time horizon of 2030: first scenario concerns the project not being implemented (Scenario 0) and the second scenario concerns the project being implemented (Scenario 1). The results of the calculations for the year 2030 were be examined comparatively with the year 2016, which is considered as the current situation. The composition of the traffic volume on the affected road network of Line 4 of the Metro is analyzed based on data collected by Attiko Metro Company.

Nowadays, mid-sized cities can achieve descent level of sustainable mobility through a balanced scheme where technological measures and revised transporting behaviour coexist harmonically. The key challenge for sustainable mobility is the modal shift to walking and cycling on a city level, leaving behind car use. Bicycle is a very flexible mean of transport which can roll on roads, sidewalks, pedestrian walkways, parks and squares. In case of tangible obstacles, like external stairs, the cyclist becomes pedestrian and carries his bike. Xanthi is a mid-sized city in Northern Greece. The traffic could be relieved from cars if a network of bicycle-paths is constructed using a ring-like scheme. More initiatives towards locomotions with bicycle must be planned by local authorities, including the sharing of public owned bicycles. In the city, the transportation infrastructure quality and moving-associated attitudes are strongly related. Neighbourhoods with no public transportation, walkways or cycling paths force households towards car use. Consequently, there is a need for coordinated decision making towards a “new thinking” based on concepts of environment protection along with the people’s well-being. Planners, engineers and economists need to work in partnership with business associations to measure and monitor amendments, in an objective manner, with appropriate scale analysis. Bicycle sharing system is proposed to be implemented by the Municipality of Xanthi. The idea is based on the high numbers of university students and training young athletes needing to move during various times in the day on relatively short courses.

This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of reward-based schemes on altering traveler’s decision making towards sustainable multimodal transportation. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey is conducted in the context of the EC-H2020 funded project “OPTIMUM” within which suitable stated preference experiments are designed. Apart from the traditional multimodal attributes, such as travel time and travel cost, each stated preference experiment is supplemented by an attribute which represents a reward-based scheme. A mixed logit model is estimated where the individual’s utility is linearly dependent on the respondent’s socio-demographics and the attributes of the different multimodal alternatives. Our analysis indicates that, overall, the reward-based incentives could slightly contribute to the promotion of sustainable and emerging transport services. In specific, offering credits and monetary rewards may be effective in altering travellers’ behavior, while the provision of other non-financial passenger services does not influence individuals’ travel choice. In addition, it is found that individuals are more likely to use car-sharing in the presence of monetary rewards, while the alternatives “Public transport with bike-sharing” and “Public transport with Bicycle” are positively affected in the presence of credits.

With the shift from fossil fuels to cleaner transport fuels our perception of the pollution from the sector changes. Greenhouse gas emissions become less important and land use for different transport modes, as well as health related issues, become more important.This paper studies this shift and discusses and compares the consequences of a technology shift in the transport sector with the shift that is possible by densifying cities and thus reducing the transport volume. While densification is seen by many as a major strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector, studies show that this takes time to achieve and much longer than technology shifts in the transport fleet. This is a result of the fact that buildings have a very long life (for example 40–200 years) and the urban fabric even longer, so shifts take place very slowly, compared to in the transport sector where the average life of vehicles may be as short as 15–20 years.By locating huge public buildings like offices and hospitals well within the city borders the transportation need is reduced, but this does surprisingly not have a considerable impact on the emissions say by 2050, compared to other alternative measures.The method applied is international literature and project studies searches to find new research. The paper applies experience-based knowledge of urban design and evidence-based knowledge seeking new insights. The goal is to look holistically at the issue and to present a set of tools or conditions that can be used as stress testing of densification as a strategy.

The subject of this paper is the traffic and environmental upgrading of the Agioi Anargyroi Square of the Municipality of Agioi Anargyroi – Kamatero. The aim is to improve the traffic of both the vehicles and other road users and to make the Square a reference point for the area. In this context, a three-step strategy is formulated and proposed: (a) diversion of large volumes of through traffic using driver information systems which will propose shorter trips outside the Municipality to the drivers, (b) traffic interventions and traffic management around the Agioi Anargyroi Square, and (c) urban renovation interventions at the open public spaces of the Agioi Anargyroi Square and the surrounding area, aiming to acquire a unique supra-local character. Emphasis was given mainly on the first stage and, in fact, shorter routes were found for the through traffic that bypass the Municipality. This was feasible using the Google Traffic feature of Google Maps which proved to be quite promising for further relevant applications in the future.

The objective of the present research is to carry out a gap analysis between current mobility situations and the needs, future plans and priorities regarding a number of thematic areas on the issue of mobility in university campuses. For this purpose, an interview was conducted involving 36 experts from seven Southern European Universities. More specifically, experts from each university were asked to analyse and rate both the current and the desired situation in the campus under their responsibility with focus on the following thematic areas: parking management, soft modes infrastructure, public transport, car related issues, road infrastructure, environment and energy, mobility management, freight infrastructure and management, and Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans. Results indicate the different gaps that exist depending whether the campus is located inside or outside the urban area. More specifically, for campuses located outside urban areas, car-sharing and carpooling systems are missing and are identified as important, together with pedestrian and cycling paths for the mobility inside the campus. On the other hand, the highest gap in campuses located inside urban areas is parking management and the role of ICT tools to support every campus sustainable mobility plan.

This paper presents a methodology for estimating traffic conditions and emissions using innovative data sources, illustrated with its application in the city of Thessaloniki in Greece. Two types of datasets are considered: probe data and traffic data collected through conventional methods. The probe dataset is comprised of individual objects’ pulses (smart devices, navigators, etc.) tracked throughout the network at constant and pre-defined locations (“stationary” probe data collection) or during the whole trip of an “object” that continuously generates pulses (“dynamic” probe data collection). The conventionally collected traffic datasets originate from inductive loops, cameras and radars. Finally, the collected data is processed for estimating mobility and emissions indicators in the city.

Replacing diesel freight vehicles in urban areas by electric ones would mitigate GHG emission but would also have other costs for urban freight and for public authorities as well as costs and benefits for environment. The cost of mitigating GHG by such a policy is estimated on the 2030–2050 period as the ratio between the total mitigated GHG and the over cost of ‘Electric Vehicle’ scenarios compared with ‘Business As Usual’ (BAU) scenario. Assuming that diesel freight vehicles are prohibited in urban areas, two ‘Electric Vehicle’ scenarios are assessed: in the first electric freight scenario (EV1), urban freight is carried in electric vans with a two tones payload while in (EV2), we assume an electric truck with a six tonnes payload. Our assumptions for these three scenarios are based on a detailed French shipper survey for freight traffic, on a study of the French Ministry of transport for traffic growth and from literature for vehicle costs. Economic costs and benefit of each scenario including BAU are assessed for the community, i.e. for urban freight transport (carriers and shippers), for public finance and external costs are assessed using tutelary values. The cost of GHG mitigation is high in scenario EV1 but in scenario EV2 the mitigation of GHG is going along with a large benefit for society.

The paper examines the relationship between sustainable transportation and the reduction of perceived traffic noise levels in the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki. The research was based on a questionnaire survey conducted on a random sample of 490 participants through personal interviews in the year 2016 (271 in Athens and 219 in Thessaloniki). The questionnaire was formed of 18 questions divided into two parts. In the first part (questions 1÷6), the participants stated their demographic data and personal income comparing the years 2008 (before the economic crisis in Greece) and the year 2016 (crisis in progress). In the second part (questions 7÷18), the participants stated the change of traffic noise levels comparing the years 2008 and 2016, the influence of traffic noise in route and transport mode choice and their willingness to increase walking and bicycling due to reduction of traffic noise. Furthermore, they stated the perceived level of traffic noise in the street they resident during day and night time, their awareness of traffic noise negative impacts on public health and their willingness to change their residential area for a quieter but more expensive one. Moreover, they stated their awareness of the sustainable transport modes positive impacts in traffic noise reduction and their willingness to pay an additional tax in order to fund relative sustainable transportation and traffic noise reduction projects in their cities. The present economic crisis in Greece can be an opportunity to change the commuters travel behavior and promote sustainable transportation.

SUMPORT is an on-going project, co-financed by the Interreg MED Programme, which aims to increase the capacity of authorities of Mediterranean Port-cities in sustainable urban mobility planning, through exchange of experiences, trainings and implementation of pilot actions. The paper presents the SUMPORT context, details out its contents and anticipated results, presents the methodology for the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the pilot activities foreseen, as well as the progress of the project implementation.

This paper aims to address the contribution of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) services to the mitigation of climate change impacts in road transport. Climate change is a fact perturbing human activities in various ways. The exacerbation of weather conditions has considerable impacts on transportation, hence indicating transport vulnerability to climate change. Europe is already confronting several changes in the climatic conditions, including increased temperatures, extreme precipitation events, cold waves and sea level rise. Interaction between climate change and road transport is evident in terms of increasing risks for network managers and users, and negatively affecting transport performance major parameters, such as safety, reliability and cost efficiency. The need to limit adverse weather conditions effects to road transport urges to adapt new mitigation policies, which will ensure transport resilience and sustainability. C-ITS services constitute an innovative array of technologies, enabled by digital connectivity among vehicles and between vehicles and transport infrastructure, expected to significantly improve road safety, traffic efficiency and comfort of driving. In this way C-ITS services have the potential to increase the levels of safety for drivers within extreme weather situations, by helping them to take the right decisions and adapt to the traffic situation. The C-MobILE project, funded under the Horizon 2020 programme, envisions a fully safe and efficient road transport without casualties and serious injuries on European roads, by deploying C-ITS services for specific mobility challenges. The project will execute large scale C-ITS deployment activities in eight cities in Europe. The C-ITS services will be provided in bundles, aiming to improve safety and traffic efficiency. The paper includes an extended review of the relevant literature. Then an assessment of the C-MobILE C-ITS services’ potential contribution to the mitigation of these effects is presented and assessed.

The objective of the present research is to better understand mobility in university campus areas, using local and transnational data, policies and planning instruments. This analysis looks at integrating student’s mobility flows to/from and inside Campus areas with urban mobility. Within this framework, a survey was developed for seven Southern European universities including a mobility questionnaire on current mobility, desired mobility, mobility problems, proposed measures/policies/tools as well as demographic characteristics of the participants which were mainly undergraduate students, post graduate students, academic/faculty members and administrative staff. For the purpose of the survey, 1,090 questionnaires were collected and further analyse. Regarding the mobility to/from the city, campuses are further distinguished into those that are inside and outside the city. Results highlight differences in the policies that are most critical based on the location of each University. More specifically, for campuses located inside urban area, the most important transport measures include public transport and environmental issues. On the other hand, for mobility in campuses located outside urban areas, results indicate that measures should address public transport and road infrastructure, to help accessibility to and from the campus areas.

The objective of this study is to investigate if it is possible to reduce the operational cost of an online Demand Responsive Transportation System (DRT) by using probabilistic trip demands while leaving the optimization algorithm intact. The idea is that we use probabilistic demands in order to predict actual ones. If the prediction is accurate enough then the DRT’s vehicle fleet reassigned in a better state. The innovation lies in the assumption that, given enough historical data on trip demands, the system’s online nature can be reduced, resulting in a better solution (problem objective). The basic steps of the proposed methodology are: (a) Based on a real historical data set, a demand distribution probability created to describe online DRT’s demands behavior. (b) During operation, for each incoming demand, create a set of additional probabilistic demands based on the distribution in (a) and calculate an initial solution. (c) Remove the probabilistic demands and optimize the solution further. (d) Comparatively analyze these solutions against those that would be produced without the use of probabilistic demands. The study revealed that using probabilistic demands improved the solutions in terms of cost (objective). Test data were recorded during an actual 30-day online DRT operation at the same location, the former municipality of Philippi in northern Greece.

This paper analyses the current structure of taxi service use in Rome, processing taxi Floating Car Data (FCD). The methodology used to pass from the original data to data useful for the demand analyses is described. Further, the patterns of within-day and day-to-day service demand are reported, considering the origin, the destination and other characteristics of the trips (e.g. travel time). The analyses reported in the paper can help the definition of space-temporal characteristics of future Shared Autonomous Electrical Vehicles (SAEVs) demand in mobility scenarios.

The biggest change in urban mobility during recent years is introduction of TNCs (Transport Network Companies) like Uber and of course the most important impact of TNC disruption happened on traditional taxi services. It is a hot topic of discussion in many countries that how the current taxi industry should respond to TNC disruption. This paper will present the current situation regarding impact of TNCs on Taxis with examples from various countries. Reaction of traditional taxi sector will be analyzed and categorized within this paper as well. Main aim is to help better understanding of different reactions, their categorization and as well potential outcomes for traditional taxi sector to be sustainable in competitive business environment and take role as part of sustainable urban mobility puzzle. There are variety of responses already given by traditional taxi industry to the TNC disruption including ‘Ignoring’, ‘Resisting’ ‘Competition’ and ‘Collaborate’ with the new actors. Different options will be evaluated and discussed in this paper and recommendations will be presented to Traditional Taxi Sector.

The paper deals with an innovative Predictive Maintenance (PdM) system to assess the quality of the engine oil for buses, tested in Ravenna within the European Bus System of the Future - EBSF_2 project, funded by the European Union. The system relies on a PdM software linked to oil sensors and filters, installed on a test fleet, and on an IT architecture, specifically designed. The system enables a continuous assessment of the oil quality, which is highly predictive of the engine performance, thus detecting potential breakdowns and planning the replacement of spare parts ahead of regular schedules; the system also detects which substances and problems cause the poor quality of the oil.The paper describes the system, the testing scenarios, the performance assessment, and the main outcomes. Results also enable an assessment of additional, potential environmental benefits (especially mitigation of emissions toxicity and improvement of waste management). Additional features are also reported such as an algorithm to estimate the date when oil has to be changed. Such results are analysed and commented with the research objective to provide advanced knowledge for further research studies.

ELIPTIC (2015–2018) is a project funded by the European Commission to develop 20 new concepts to demonstrate that the further take-up of electric vehicles can be done in a cost-efficient way, with tangible effects on the urban environment. The concepts are divided into three thematic pillars: (i) safe integration of electric buses using existing electric public transport infra-structure; (ii) innovative energy storage systems to increase operational efficiency, and (iii) multi-purpose use of electric public transport infrastructure.ELIPTIC deploys such new concepts on eleven use cases across Europe and the outcomes are independently assessed according to a methodology specifically designed to deal with the two different types of case studies: demonstrators, assessed via a direct before-vs-during comparison of performance and feasibility studies, assessed via a dedicated SWOT analysis. ELIPTIC also relies on a User Forum involving public transport practitioners who assist in the development of the project. The assessment also includes a transferability exercise. The paper describes the ELIPTIC concepts under test and the assessment methodology, along with the outcomes from the assessment procedure, cross-revised with the feedback from the User Forum participants. To conclude, recommendations for the upscaling of electrification of public transit across Europe are drawn.

Flexible Transport Services (FTSs) are usually recommended as an appropriate solution for the service of travel needs of low demand areas and/or vulnerable people. The flexibility in terms of their design characteristics (e.g. booking procedure, pricing, Level of Service [LoS], etc.) raises the problem of their determination (levels) towards the creation of an optimum future Flexible Transport Services (FTS) (‘product’). By applying the Choice Based Conjoint Analysis (CBCA) deriving from the marketing research discipline, we calculated the ‘utility’ value of the defined levels, the ‘importance’ values of their characteristics and the preferences’ shares for selected alternative scenarios of services. As case study area, we chose the underserved traditional and historic settlements of the mountainous region of Zagori (Zagorochoria) in Greece, close to the city of Ioannina. A field research survey was conducted for the collection of data, both by personal interviews and self-completion online. The analysis of the results is demonstrating a positive acceptance of Flexible Transport Services (FTS) and is indicating travel cost as the most important characteristic.

The term “business model” is associated with the “dot-com” firms and its exponential growth in late 90s, but in contemporary economics it is a transversal matter to any organization according to Osterwalder et al. (2004). There are many definitions of business model, but there is a common point in all of them: a business model is created to represent a certain service or product in order to create value to stakeholders and to be purchased by a company’s customers. The aim of the paper is to define the theoretical way for building a successful business model, which can be useful for a passenger transport company. As a result of theoretical research the authors developed recommendations for building a prototype of business model for a company, which is operating in transport industry.

Not all of the travel needs are adequately covered by the existing commercially oriented Public Transport (PT) services, while public funding is gradually being reduced. At the same time, disruptive global societal and market trends create new social challenges at local level. By activating the catalyst group of social entrepreneurs, new innovative solutions, with high social impact and value, could be applied filling the existing gaps in uncovered needs. At the moment, Social Entrepreneurship has not really been leveraged in PT in Greece, despite its potential. The involvement of the social entrepreneurs and social innovators towards the creation of more attractive, inclusive and sustainable PT related service for all, comprises an emerging and crucial topic. This was explored in the Greek national context by consulting professionals and experts coming from the mobility sector and social economy field, in the frame of an interactive, participatory workshop. The aim of this structured interaction that was based on the methods derived from collective innovation and focus group processes, was (i) the identification of potential synergies among Social Entrepreneurs and Public Transport, and (ii) the identification of potential barriers that such initiatives may face. Indeed, participants explored the fields where social entrepreneurs could be involved for the provision or the improvement of PT services and came up with some policy recommendations to overcome the identified barriers.

Travel time perception modeling and analysis is required for the planning, design and evaluation of public transportation systems. Often, changes in socioeconomic conditions may have an impact to the perception of public transportation travelers as for their perception of travel time components. Using stated preference data from Athens, Greece, this paper investigates perceived travel time characteristics in a post-economic recession era, using logistic and linear regression models. Two types of models are developed. The first type attempts to identify parameters that affect traveller preferences towards walking and waiting for a shorter or longer period. The second type investigates the contribution of individual in-vehicle and out-of-vehicle travel time (perceived) components to the total perceived travel time. Results are compared to those obtained by a recent, pre-recession study undertaken by the Athens Public Transport Organization. Findings suggest changes in traveler perceptions on the importance of waiting and walk access/egress time.

Visual nuisance is one of the environmental consequences caused by the operation of a railway transport system and especially that of an urban surface system, such as a tramway. It constitutes a design and construction parameter of the system and it entails the system’s aesthetics as a whole, since that determines the degradation or improvement of the landscape in which the tramway is to be integrated in. It is of interest to the system’s users but mainly to all the residents of the urban area that the system will be running through.The structural elements of a tramway system, associated with visual nuisance, are the stops, the depot(s), the electrification installations, the interior and exterior of the vehicles, the track superstructure, the covering materials of the tramway corridors, the signaling equipment and finally the way the tramway infrastructure is separated from the rest of the traffic.By studying the current approaches for evaluating visual nuisance as is conducted in large transport projects today, a lack of an objective evaluation method can be observed.In this paper a methodology is proposed for evaluating the visual nuisance caused by the integration of a tramway system in an urban area. It is mainly of interest to the evaluators of urban railway systems, as it can replace their intuitive subjective choices with a rather objective common approach to the evaluation of visual nuisance. It is also of interest to the designers as it provides them with a list of best practices for the reduction of visual nuisance.The findings of this research may be applied at the design stage of a new tramway system, at the evaluation of an existing system or finally for the evaluation of corrective interventions aimed at upgrading an existing system.

Mobility redefinition is essential in any City/Region, towards attaining sustainable mobility in terms of the triple bottom line dimensions (economic, social and environmental). Therefore, it is urgent to improve and to create a more inclusive system towards enhancing public transport, based on population needs and using viable infrastructures and alternatives. Aiming to identify recent keys mobility systems, this paper presents an overview of various solutions adopted in public transports area, in some regions of the world with points in common with Alto Minho’ Region and/or to the Region headquarters (Viana do Castelo). Furthermore, it is intended to identify and discuss those innovative combinations of transport modes currently employed, that could positively impact the Alto Minho Region transportation system. The overall assessment will support the definition of the main criteria to design a novel and efficient transport system, fully adapted to this region characteristics and population’s needs. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to propose a viable and efficient public transport system that meets the region’s sustainability requirements, along with the opportunity to involve the population, the transport companies and the different stakeholders, as well as the policy makers.

Public Transport (PT) is a key factor towards sustainable urban mobility. The increase of its modal share requires the continuous adoption of new innovative and user-centric solutions covering the existing and emerging needs of citizens. Which concepts and ideas should be promoted and financed by priority? The paper aims to present the quantitative evaluation of the innovative PT-related ideas resulted from the collective intelligence processes (crowdsourcing and co-creation) that were applied in the frame of the CIPTEC project (H2020). An online questionnaire survey was addressed to experts in order to evaluate quantitatively twenty selected concepts by rating them, against three distinct assessment criteria: utility, feasibility and innovativeness. The analysis enabled us to understand how the collected rates are varying, in the case of examining the distribution of either each innovation or each criterion individually. As an overall conclusion, it could be claimed that although the outcome of the collective intelligence process might not be always as innovative as it was initially planned, its advantage of being in line with both the PT demand and supply side needs and priorities, ensures its utility and feasibility and subsequently, the increased possibility for its adoption and market uptake.

Public transport systems – especially demand responsive transport – lack a direct feedback possibility for customers. Contemporary approaches allow post-mortem feedback, where the consumer has to input detailed data of past travel experiences. Hence, it is hard to detect the location and time when and where the feedback was submitted, and in particular it is hard to trace the location of the incident that leads to the feedback (e.g. on which line/route, on which exact train the incident happened). Therefore we propose an approach for submitting feedback, that utilizes the current position of the customer. The approach draws on Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), which is a special case of user–generated content coupled with participatory approaches in Geoinformation. Thus, the approach followed in this paper presents a concept that allows instant feedback, including the current position and timestamp. This approach allows the instant detection “where” an incident happened leading to costumer feedback (e.g. on which train, on which bus). A pilot implementation is tested and critically evaluated in a test region located in the municipality of Gratwein–Straßengel (Province of Styria, Austria). The experiment is conducted in a demand responsive transport system, where we monitor the feedback behavior of the customers using a smart-phone feedback application. The results show, that the concept utilizing VGI–methodologies was successfully applied to a demand responsive transport system. In addition, the results show that the approach provides instant feedback on problems and incidents for decision makers and transport managers, including the crucial information “where” and “when” something happened. In the first two weeks of operation, we received 55 customer feedbacks – of 175 ordered trips – of which the majority was positive and requested the transport service to be expanded in future.

A disruption to Athens metro service due to simultaneous malevolent attacks in metro lines 2 and 3 is examined in this paper. The directly impacted area is part of the metro network outside the central metro ring defined by interchange stations Syntagma, Monastiraki, Omonia and Attiki, where detours are not possible. The area covers metro sections in the western part of Athens where the population is more transit dependent. The Strategic Transport Model of Attiko Metro (AM) has been used to assess the consequences in case no alternative transport is provided and in case of bus bridging provision.

In transport planning, the connection between peripheral and urban areas is a complex issue to be dealt with. Difficulties are even exacerbated when the trans-regional and transnational scales are considered. However, transnational commuting is an increasing phenomenon and regional policy makers should be able to face it adequately. This paper describes the main issues related to this topic and highlights some possible solutions. Then, it presents the condition of the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol. This territory, at the border with Austria and Switzerland, is known for its well-developed public transport system, supported by an adequate infomobility and integrated tariff scheme. This grants a use of public transport per person that is among the highest at the national level. Despite this, some difficulties are still visible when the trans-regional and transnational scales are considered. A specific SWOT analysis illustrates the main aspects that still need to be addressed. The European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation can be the institutional body able to promote a better integration of the mobility among peripheral and urban areas in transboundary contexts.

In an effort to streamline warehouse logistics processes, the development of a smart picking system is becoming a mainstay for efficient work of a warehouse. A smart picking system is a set of numerous elements of an order picking process which raises the velocity and quality of picking through using the warehouse management system. It comprises the following chain of warehouse operating processes: the way of organizing goods flow, order dividing principle, several location variants for the storing area and picking area, routing methods of picking, replenishment methods, two approaches of goods layout: one picking location for each item, or various picking locations for each single item. The sequence of building a certain model of the smart picking system depends on a variety of conditions of the warehouse. Introduction of such a system in a warehouse would ultimately result in a number of benefits, though the main purpose of a smart picking system is to prevent warehouse problems that may arise daily or due to seasonal changes.

Global urbanization processes expedite a growing demand for more sustainability and higher liveability in cities. New logistic concepts like cargo bike schemes can be a vital means towards this goal. In this respect, both logistics planning and urban planning need to address several aspects of the urban fabric, but show a lack of holistic planning tools. We develop a conceptual framework that combines planning objects and planning scales of logistics planning with urban planning. We demonstrate the application of the framework for the theoretical deployment of an urban transhipment facility (UTF). Drawing upon interdisciplinary expertise from urban logistics, urbanism, sociology and psychology, several interdependencies of an UTF implementation with the urban fabric become apparent. Regarding this, several practical recommendations for the use case can be derived. In general, we recommend the application of the framework as a guideline for urban and urban logistics planning purposes to practitioners and encourage scientists to further develop and enrich the framework.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the European Commission has decided to set a primary objective, among other things, concerning transportation systems, and that is for them to become sustainable. In this aspect, City Logistics should be transformed from a link of the Supply Chain to an integrated and sustainable transport system by implementing innovative policies.The Municipality of Thessaloniki, Greece, is ready to make an important step towards the achievement of the abovementioned objective, by implementing the policy of Night Deliveries. The proposed policy is based on a mixed - hybrid approach which includes the imposition of a ban on commercial vehicles exceeding 1,5 tons (and up to 8 tons) in weight inside the area of the Municipality of Thessaloniki during daytime. During this period, commercial vehicles under 1,5 tons weight will be allowed to deliver goods using only the dedicated, for this reason, parking lots. The commercial vehicles exceeding the above-mentioned weight will be allowed to deliver goods only during the night. Thus, the local authorities aim to reduce the externalities created by the City Logistics system and upgrading it to a sustainable one.Within the framework of this paper, a SWOT analysis is carried out concerning the implementation of the specific policy. The existing infrastructure of dedicated parking lots for commercial vehicles is taken into account in the considerations of the Night Deliveries policy in the under study area. The paper makes use of the results of the respective research activities which are carried out in the Department of Transportation & Hydraulic Engineering, School of Rural & Surveying Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, during the last six (6) years.

Mexico City is one of the cities with the highest vehicular traffic in the world. Santa Fe is a commercial and business zone located in the west side of this City. Also, three of the most important Universities in the country are located in this area. Santa Fe stands out as a particularly conflictive place in terms of vehicular traffic due to the high number of floating population, few access roads and non-connection with the massive public transportation of the City.The main objective is to make more efficient the journeys of the University Community through collaboration, information and synchronization.The main idea of this paper is the design of a digital tool only available for the University Community. It will be filled with information uploaded by the same Community. Through an APP, they will be able to visualize different options of routes and kinds of transport, also alerts and location. Everything is going to be modified and visualized in real time. This project will be a tool that will empower the University Community.

The European Council has set the target to reduce European greenhouse gas emissions by 20% till 2020. The negative impacts of urban goods distribution are mainly caused by used vehicles (e.g. diesel-powered) and low system efficiency (e.g. low loading factor, low cooperation). The paper is focused on the introduction of the activities realized under new project – Low Carbon Logistic. It’s realized under the Interreg South Baltic Programme. The major objective of this project is to implement the low carbon city logistics measures in 5 pilot cities as well as to promote and support this kind of activities in South Baltic Region. The aim of the paper is to introduce the assumptions for the activities realized in pilot cities. The planned results will be mostly focused on development of consolidation systems and implementation of alternative fuelled vehicles (EV and cargo-bikes). Also the major elements of LCL approach have been introduced.

As concern for the environment rises, green logistics is becoming essential and necessary to expand profit margins for companies and improve customer services. As such, companies take into account the external costs of logistics associated mainly with environmental pollution and a possible area of improvement is determined in the context of vehicle utilization. The aforementioned considerations form the background of this paper, which aims to investigate different operational scenarios of a company for urban logistics in an effort to reduce routing and environmental costs. Assuming a homogeneous fleet of capacitated vehicles, the goal is to design minimum cost vehicle routes for the service of a set of geographically scattered customers. The objective is to minimize the number of vehicles required to service all customers and the total mileage in order to indirectly streamline the urban delivery operations related to products. Besides routing costs, the environmental perspective behind this study is captured minimizing the total fuel consumption and thus, the possible pollutant emissions generated. An efficient routing algorithm is proposed utilizing several types of data specifying operational constraints such as vehicle’s capacity, fleet size, location information and customer’s data (i.e. time windows, demand, service time). For the evaluation of the different operational scenarios, an empirical study based on real data is conducted assessing the performance of the proposed algorithm and the reported results demonstrate both operational and environmental impacts.

Home deliveries and e-commerce activities have increased substantially in the recent years. This fact led to the increase of the number of last mile trips in urban areas contributing immensely to the overall impacts on the urban environment. Communities are called to find smart solutions to alleviate these impacts, providing at the same time efficient logistics operation, service quality and user satisfaction. “Smart lockers” is a novel city logistics measure aiming at mitigating issues generated from the last mile of parcel deliveries, thus promoting the principles of sustainable urban mobility.In the present study a microscopic simulation of freight traffic flows was performed in a medium-sized municipality of Athens, Greece. Actual delivery data were obtained from a well-known logistics provider and used as input in PTV Vissim software in order to firstly assess the current operation of the deliveries in the study area. Further, an alternative scenario was developed, assuming that instead of home addresses, deliveries were made to the existing, though currently of limited use smart lockers network, assuming final collection of the order by the consumers. Consumers’ traveling options and preferences, were simulated in more sub-scenarios and results were compared to provide better understanding of the potential benefits arising by implementing the measure. Impacts on traffic (i.e. travel times and delays), as well as on the environment (i.e. emissions) were further assessed in a multicriteria framework which led to the estimation of the Logistics Sustainability Indices of the tested scenarios.

Urban freight transport is a part of a complex system comprising a considerable number of various participants, numerous limitations, fragmentation of goods flows, which decreases the transport effectiveness, pivotal connections in supply chains, and also the risk of conflicts between expectations of particular stakeholders. The problems require that a well-thought approach to implementation decision making should be applied. A prerequisite for a correctly implemented process of urban freight transport optimisation and rationalisation is an ex ante, in-depth analysis of the current situation and condition of a given urban system, a well performed assessment of obtained results and correct identification of goals for future actions. The paper is focused on the methodological assumptions for the implementation of the city logistics measures based on the adaptability and transferability approach. The major objective is to establish the general framework for this kind of activities.

The aim of this paper is to investigate potential changes in stakeholders’ behavior towards Urban Freight Transport (UFT) policies and measures. In order to capture such behavioral changes, an online questionnaire survey was conducted in 12 European cities, and feedback was received from 292 stakeholders, including supply chain stakeholders, public authorities and other stakeholders. Stakeholders were asked to rate in a scale from 1 to 5, twelve variables, namely: green reputation, diffusion of information, perceived alternative mobility, quality of life, awareness level, green concern, perceived visual and audio nuisance, motivation for eco-driving, compliance with regulations, enforcement, eco-driving practice before the journey and eco-driving practice after the journey. The latter four variables, supplemented by the appropriate statements, were also used for testing the Transtheoretical Model of Change. In this case, supply chain and other stakeholders were asked to choose one of the six stages of the model that mostly represented their attitudes, before and after the implementation of UFT measures in their city. The analysis of results revealed the changes in stakeholders’ knowledge, attitudes, intention and consequently behavior towards UFT policies and measures, and useful conclusions were drawn about the proportion of those stakeholders who have repudiated their previous unsustainable behavior and established the new “desired” behavior.

The paper provides an empirical analysis of urban freight transport in the city center of Turin through the use of Agent-based Modelling. The aim is to explore to what extent the policies fostered by Turin’s municipality within the European project NOVELOG (New Cooperative Business Models and Guidance for Sustainable City Logistics) could trigger more ecological behaviors in retailers during the provision’s process. The model is based on the idea that ecological behavior depends both on economic and social features, such as imitative component and service’s quality perceived and individual environmental sensitivity. The agents are informed through real data provided by the City of Turin. A price-based policy simulates the effect of an hypothetical NOVELOG monetary incentive, while a motivation-based policy would exploit the network effect. The results show that the policies improve the timing of the diffusion of virtuous behaviors, reducing the total production of pollutant emissions. The most effective results are given by strong monetary incentives for purchasing an ecological vehicle within the own-account option, or by the combination of price and motivation policies for the shift to a third-party option.

Within this paper, an analysis of the road freight transport and logistics market at EU level is presented. Based on the findings of the AEOLIX project, a preliminary analysis of the market size, volume and share of the logistics sector in Europe is presented herein, along with the respective allocation of costs in differentiated categories. Similarly, the road freight transport sector is examined in terms of volume of transported goods and its evolution in time, number of freight transport operations by commercial vehicles, vehicles’ age and kilometers travelled, distance class, and volume of cabotage in Europe. The paper concludes with a critical analysis of the presented data, delivering key messages for the future of freight transport in Europe regarding world trends, future drivers for successful business options in the sector and the role of SMEs therein, current needs in terms of services and related environmental concerns.

This paper examines the current and the future performance of the traffic network around the center of the city of Volos in Greece, after the implementation of local traffic management measures and the introduction of innovative Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) services.The study focuses on the urban road of two main streets Iasonos (up to Fillelinon street) and Dimitriados (section between Fillelinon and Athanasiou Diakou streets) where during the peak hours, congestion results in high delays, bottlenecks and conflicts. System performance is based on specific indicators, which have been set to evaluate the traffic situation in the three main areas of interest: traffic quality, safety and environment.An investigation on the current and potential problems of the study area has been performed, by modeling the current situation (base scenario) in the microsimulation software VISSIM and using the “Surrogate Safety Assessment Model” (SSAM) to assess the traffic safety. The findings were low quality of signal control, low compliance of drivers to traffic laws (illegal and unregulated parking, trespassing of the bus lane), critical safety hotspots and increased emissions. “Soft” countermeasures are simulated and evaluated in VISSIM. Such “soft” countermeasures are the ban of access to Urban Freight Transport (UFT) vehicles during the peak hours, the adoption of ITS to prevent illegal parking, the adjustment of the coordination time offset.Apart from evaluating the impact of the countermeasures, the paper constitutes also a roadmap for achieving overall improvement of an urban traffic network without resulting into the construction of new transport infrastructure.

Traffic increasingly shapes the trajectory of city growth and impacts on the climate change in modern cities. Traffic patterns’ monitoring can provide with innovative practices in understanding city traffic dynamics, especially via utilizing sensory and textual data analytics. State-of-the-art research recently has focused on processing voluminous real time data in vast quantities by capturing real time sensory observations and/or social network (textual) data regarding city traffic. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of using Big Data produced by Twitter textual streams for extracting traffic related events. After describing a generic yet innovative application used for data capturing, we preprocess this data so they fit into the structuring of the machine learning models for clustering (unsupervised learning) and classification (supervised learning). For the case of clustering we use Apache Spark on a MapR sandbox with the use of KMeans algorithm. For the classification case we compare various machine learning methodologies including Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Networks, (MLP-NN), Support Vector Machines, (SVM) and a Deep Convolutional Learning, (DCL) approach to contextualize citizen observations and responses via tweets. The criteria of precision, accuracy, recall and F-score are used as statistical metrics to determine the accuracy and performance of each model. Our experiments include clustering, a 2-class and a 3-class classification, where, MLP-NN gave accuracy of 89.6%, SVM 92.73% and DCL was inferior performing at 81.76%.

In the present context, it is frequent for urban and national road networks to be highly congested, resulting in increased travel times and delays. At the same time, due to toll charging, some high-quality highway networks, particularly in Portugal, are underused. Dynamic charging on highway networks can contribute towards the optimization of the network performance and understanding the behavior of logistic operators as one of the main users of the network is of great importance for the development of any dynamic charging toll model. Within this context, one of the pilot cases of the H2020 project OPTIMUM includes the development of such a forecasting and dynamic (toll) charging model with the key objective of transferring heavy traffic from the urban and national roads to highways. The first run of pilot occurred between March 09th, 2017 and April 07th, 2017, performance indicators (KPI) were highly positive in terms of freight traffic shift from the national roads to the highways and, consequently, an increase in toll revenues and freight operations efficiency was registered.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) provide accurate and reliable positioning solutions in open field environments. However, the positioning performance is not the same in dense urban areas, where satellite signals are blocked or reflected by tall buildings.A 3D city model, ‘Urban Trench’, is introduced to simulate blockage and reflection of GNSS signals. The ‘Urban Trench’ model assesses the reflection environment of the city and the non-light-of-sight (NLOS) ranging errors are corrected, based on satellite elevation and a 3D surface model. Subsequently, the metric of NLOS signal exclusion using an elevation-enhanced map is developed and tested using real vehicular data in the test urban network of Nantes. A GPS&GLONASS-constellation single-frequency receiver is used during the experiment. The performance of both systems, stand alone and in combination as dual-constellation, are presented, compared and evaluated, with and without ‘Urban Trench’ model implementation. Additionally, a fault detection and exclusion test is applied, to check and enhance the integrity of the output.

Mobility is highly associated to the ability of the travelers to have access to the proper information on the appropriate time, so that to facilitate their choices regarding the destination, time of the day for the trip, mode of travel and itinerary. Based on this information, travelers optimize their travel in order to reduce travel times and costs, considering also minimizing the footprint of such activities. Journey planner platforms are developed to provide customized information to travelers, and advice on optimum options for the specific trip requirements. They vary in context, contents and functionality, which affect the type, quality and reliability of the information and/or advice. The level of service provided by journey planners is the main aim of the present paper. For this very reason a thorough review and analysis of various Journey Planners was performed. The platforms were selected based on whether they provide route optimization and their detailed characteristics were reported in a structured data collection template. Mystery shopping was selected as the applied method, in order to achieve objectivity and equity in the planners’ attributes. Following a statistical analysis, correlational models were developed to associate route planners’ components to their popularity and usage. The relationships were compared to the stated significance of the route planners’ attributes by users, based on previous research. Findings indicate that both functionality and user interface are important attributes that affect travelers in using the platforms, whereas complex and sophisticated information may deter visiting them especially when a quick response is required.

Monitoring large scale mobility patterns is reliant on profiling the day-to-day movements of a significant number of city/country inhabitants. Mobile phone data (interactions with Telecommunication antennas) can be used to perform such profiling. In this paper, we present a program, Analysing Traces to Observe Mobility on SmartCare (ATOMS), to find and characterise user journeys. For Chile, we are able to profile more than 1 million users with approximately 3 million journeys/sub-journeys per day. For each journey/sub-journey, we find the start and end time, distance travelled, an estimate of the speed and further characteristics. Using the journeys stored in our database, Database of ATOMS (DATOMS), we are able to automatically identify commuters thanks to a second program, Neural Analysis of DATOMS for Itinerary Recognition (NADIR), by using a set of features from the journeys found by ATOMS in a Neural Network machine-learning approach. The potential for such a data-set is far reaching. We close by highlighting the potential (future) applications in mobility such as determining the mode of transport and inner-/intra-city Origin-Destination matrices.

Sustainable urban mobility is one of the top priorities in European Union and worldwide, as there is an intense tendency of population density increase in urban areas, which results in traffic, economic, environmental and societal impacts. To allocate smart solutions and address successfully urban mobility, communities need to build awareness and knowledge on the demand for people’s mobility and goods transportation, as well as to develop appropriate tools to manage and assess transportation system performance. The above, raise the necessity of data availability. In the era of rapid technological development and endless production of data, electronic devices, including smartphones, personal computers, autonomous vehicles, GPS (Global Positioning System), SDR (Software-defined radio) devices and Bluetooth, have become sources of big data. Urban mobility is a sector that could benefit from using big data by understanding, analyzing and processing data to manage traffic, predict demand, affect travelers’ choices and assess level of service.The purpose of this paper is to identify and review available open big data sources, big data tools and transport related applications in European and international transport platforms. Collected information is used to formulate a roadmap of available and open big data sources, open big data processing tools and applications which aim at improving urban mobility.

Sustainable urban mobility planning (SUMP) plays a significant role as an integrated strategic management tool in enabling, among others, a participatory approach in urban transport development. A relevant aspect of the transition towards sustainable and smart mobility planning concerns the reconsideration of concepts such as Value of Travel Time (VTT). Rather than “cost of time spent in transport”, new perspectives on VTT aim at conceptualizing and measuring VTT based on individual needs, expectations and perceptions. Among others, attention is paid to individual experience in using transport infrastructure, services and systems while on the move. The ongoing shift towards a broader view of VTT gives importance to subjective “well-being” (SWB) and describes, in quantitative and qualitative terms, the individual value proposition of mobility (VPM). The opportunity to collect mobility and behavioral data via smartphones, to be processed with advanced analytical and modelling techniques, represents a pillar of such shift, since it allows identifying patterns embedded in individual daily activities and mobility choices. These patterns can be visualized to increase self-awareness and better understand one’s own value proposition of mobility.

The aim of this paper is to deliver a brief synopsis of the transport research landscape by conducting a review of the transport projects across the four modes of transport on European level (FP7, H2020). This synoptic review identifies dominant technology themes (i.e. small electric urban vehicle design, battery materials and design, cleaner conventional engines, Automated Driver Assistance System, cleaner and quitter aviation engines, developments of Computer Engineering tools, morphing aircrafts, cleaner multifuel maritime engines, new freight wagon design, satellite positioning for rail Train Control & Management System). Future recommendations and conclusions are also provided.

I have advocated and argued for a paradigm shift from Tobler’s law to scaling law, from Euclidean geometry to fractal geometry, from Gaussian statistics to Paretian statistics, and – more importantly – from Descartes’ mechanistic thinking to Alexander’s organic thinking. Fractal geometry falls under the third definition of fractal given by Bin Jiang – that is, a set or pattern is fractal if the scaling of far more small things than large ones recurs multiple times – rather than under the second definition of fractal by Benoit Mandelbrot, which requires a power law between scales and details. The new fractal geometry is more towards Christopher Alexander’s living geometry, not only for understanding complexity, but also for creating complex or living structure. This short paper attempts to clarify why the paradigm shift is essential and to elaborate on several concepts, including spatial heterogeneity (scaling law), scale (or the fourth meaning of scale), data character (in contrast to data quality), and sustainable transport in the big data era.

Autonomous (or Driverless) vehicles are expected to be the future of urban transportation. As autonomous is defined a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment and navigating using a variety of sensors and methods without human input. It is estimated that driverless cars will be technically sufficient for common usage by the end of 2025. In this paper, advantages of the autonomous vehicles are pointed out while limitations and other significant concerns are examined thoroughly. The most important advantages of the integration of autonomous vehicles in the circulation are related with the enhancement of safety, sustainability and accessibility of urban transportation. On the contrary, privacy and data protection issues are arising. Another critical issue is the cyber security of autonomous car’s system and its vulnerability to hacker attacks. Furthermore, there are some legislation gaps concerning the usage and ownership of driverless cars, as well as responsibility in case of accidents. In addition, many complex ethical issues are arising, as autonomous cars will be programmed to act in a predefined way towards unexpected situations. Finally, human adoption to autonomous vehicles will prove a very serious matter; it may take long until people feel fully comfortably inside a driverless car.

Urban growth, combined with the development of digital technology, has led to the recent boom of smart cities worldwide. Smart cities make use of all available information and communications technology in the built environment to control their operation and in this way to enhance the quality of life and to drive economic growth. This phenomenon also raises legal issues regarding data protection. The key questions that smart cities already face concern the rights and treatment of data. Currently, further to the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC, each Member State of the EU has in place its own legislation to govern data protection. This translates into a lack of harmonization within the European Union, which does not contribute towards uniting even more the various Member States. This is something that the introduction of the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) on 25 May 2018 aims to change, as it shall be directly applicable as is and shall not require different legislation in each country, thus requiring all smart cities and related businesses throughout the EU to ensure their treatment of data complies with the same set of provisions. Therefore, since smart cities are the cities of the future and legal compliance shall be a cornerstone of their operation, the objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between smart cities and data protection under the emerging common EU legal framework and the effect it has upon them.

Autonomous (AV) and Connected Vehicle (CV), often mentioned as CAV’s, rush their way into automobile market. Consumer cars are increasingly equipped with systems that perform driving functions, either by themselves or by communicating with external systems, thus cancelling the need for a person to be driving. Given the fact that road traffic is a highly regulated area, as it bears huge risks for all traffic users, redefining current regulations is more than ever a necessity.Many countries in the EU and many states of the USA are making effort to create the appropriate legal conditions for full CAV distribution, through amendments of current regulation or introduction of new more sufficient laws and standards. Most of legislative efforts so far, aim in introducing definitions or determine on road testing procedures though there are few more invasive regulations. Two parameters are taken into consideration on most cases: tort liability and data privacy. Tort liability is used to define who is to blame in case of an accident. Data Privacy is also very important as data sharing is greatly involved in CAV’s operation. This paper presents current legal framework in EU, USA and Greece along with the most significant efforts in adopting new CAV friendly legislation, leading to a variety of issues that need to be addressed so as to ensure public safety and to ease CAV’s deployment.

Vehicular ad hoc networks have attracted a lot of research recently, because of the multiple possible applications. Blockchain is a new approach to designing distributed storage infrastructures. In this paper the implementation of a blockchain infrastructure on top of vehicular ad hoc networks is presented. The main motive is to create a peer to peer shared storage between vehicles traveling in a specific area that may enable them to collaboratively produce data that can be used by them or even sold to other vehicles. A proof of concept experiment has been conducted through simulating the proposed system functioning by using a real world dataset containing vehicles GPS coordinates.

This paper deals with a first attempt to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of a sharing mobility scenario for the central area of Rome in the year 2035. The main aspects of the proposed scenario focus on the use of electric automated vehicles, on car sharing, on limitations of the use of private cars and on road pricing in the central area of the city. The results indicate a technical and financial feasibility of the scenario.

The Norwegian Parliament has recently carried out a motion for all Norwegian city regions to curb all growth in private car use and redirect urban travel into public transport, cycling and walking. The county of Rogaland has therefore devised a set of transport and mobility measures for the Stavanger city region, such as a bus rapid system, a cycle highway, toll ring roads, sustainable mobility strategies, but also increased road capacity. This paper examines some of the underlying geographic hypotheses of sustainable transport planning aiming at reduced private car use.The Stavanger city region is characterised by dispersed development and high levels of car ownership and use, as well as an affluent population. Work travel data is used to investigate geographic factors that are assumed to impact on travel behaviour, such as travel distance, centrality and proximity to public transport. The question is whether the local work travel behaviour confirms typical assumptions about transport-oriented development. This study contributes to a better understanding of urban travel choice and its factors, thus helping to optimise local government efforts to reduce car travel.

It has been several years now that research coming from various disciplines such as sports science, medicine, urban planning and transport planning has provided strong evidence that sustainable urban mobility (SUM) is not only beneficial to the function of the city but to the human body too. As SUM includes not merely public transport but physical activity (walking, cycling, etc.) and as these can be further combined with exercise, an active urban environment can be created that can contribute to human health. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT), a software which includes an algorithm designed to estimate the long–term health and economic benefit of a given population’s cycling or walking. This paper shows how the HEAT has been applied to the case of the city of Trikala, Greece. It is based on bicycle traffic measurements recorded on September 2016, in Trikala, in the context of the SPACE Erasmus+ EU Programme. The result shows how and how much the increase of bicycle traffic (distance, hours, frequency of use) in the future can increase life expectancy and reduce health care costs, thus being a beneficial investment. The paper, also includes several ‘what if scenarios’ related to walking, so as to provide a broader picture of a possible urban active environment in the city.

In this paper, the possibility of using the autonomous vehicles with the contribution of Blockchain technology as part of a service is examined. As a first step a short Literature review of Autonomous Vehicles as well as Blockchain technology is provided. Blockchain is another newly established technology and its main purpose is to facilitate secure online transactions. Furthermore, through this paper it is explained that together Autonomous vehicles and Blockchain technology could provide the end user with cleaner, more economical and efficient transportation. In addition, a publicly owned system is described, where the two technologies combine, and the autonomous vehicle will provide the user the most convenient route based on real-time traffic information, while Blockchain will make the economic transaction easier since it could allow peer-to-peer carsharing and eliminate the need for banks. Moreover, in order to fully understand this system, the rising concerns regarding these technologies are mentioned. This paper aims to examine such a possible service using autonomous vehicles and Blockchain technology, since they essential could become the future of transportation.

The complexity that underlies in transport systems and logistics necessitate the integration of different models that are capable of overcoming potential limitations when considering tools individually. This paper focuses on the evaluation of traffic and logistics measures by integrating two simulation software (PTV VISSIM and AnyLogic). The simplicity of integrating the two software make the resulting model a suitable tool for evaluating measures at regional level.The result of the integration is a model that is able to simulate the traffic conditions on a transport network. The integrated model is tested in the wider area of Volos Port, Greece and port’s intra-logistics processes. The model is used to evaluate the feasibility of the measures in the year 2030, by comparing it with the situation in the year 2030 without the implementation of any new measure. The evaluation of the model is performed by using a set of indicators that represent environmental and transport impacts. The analysis is completed by using a multi-criteria decision making tool to generate the Logistics Sustainability Index (LSI) to summarize the information that is provided by the indicators. The study indicates that the usage of simulation models has the potential to provide a holistic impact evaluation of complex decisions and support long term planning.

Performance indicators to measure delay and delay improvement within the system are the non-operation period of an aircraft, the distance and time by ground vehicles needed to get to their assigned task. Due to the rising number of passengers within the next years, the effectiveness of these indicators needs to rise. A conceptual model was built with the help of Kuhn’s process chain model, which was used as a basis for the following rough calculation. The rough calculation contains time for necessary tasks at an airport as well as data about aircrafts, which departure and arrive at Riga International Airport. This paper focuses on the development and computer simulation of priority based control strategies for improving turnaround times of aircrafts at the apron of the Riga International Airport.

The importance to have information on delivery accurate and on-time is considered quite high in B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) segments. It is also essential for managing supply chain and delivery networks. With the aim of being fast, safe, controllable and traceable, delivery and trucking companies have developed a quite different logistics networks and systems in their logistics processes. Usually implementing of such processes requires a lot of resources from finance and IT perspective, which is not very suitable for SME (small and medium-sized enterprises). This paper presents concept, design and prototyping of the solution, which can be used and shared between delivery companies, 3PL (third-party logistics) operators and consignees to get IoD (information on delivery) accurate and on-time without implementing high costs and complicated processes and IT systems. The proposed solution is primarily based on QR (quick response) code recognition and data sharing.

Transport services usability refers to the conditions of the infrastructure: reliability, safety, comfort and ease of access to various modes, travel time, and affordability. However, the transport services market does not distribute equitably in urban and rural areas. The scope of research is to analyze equity in user satisfaction in two transport interchanges: Bus Stations in capital city Riga and in small town Jelgava. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey in August 2017. The questionnaire included the users’ opinion about service usability and quality of services. The analysis of differences between provided services and quality level for interchange in the capital city and small town was conducted.

This paper investigates the accessibility level of the International Coach Terminal in Riga, Latvia, determining crucial parameters, such as needs, elements and policies that can reform existing transportation hubs into fully accessible ones for all citizens. In order to receive users’ feedback on the existing conditions of the terminal and gather their expectations for future interventions, a questionnaire survey was conducted by the Transport and Telecommunication Institute in cooperation with the terminal administration. Achieving a response rate of 95%, 239 users provided useful information about their travel habits, preferences and level of satisfaction, by rating thirty indicators. The results of this survey were also compared, through a meta-analysis approach, with relevant findings of similar surveys realized in five European transport interchanges.

Through the European Strategy for low-emission MOBILITY of 2016, the European Commission is working to strengthen the economy by promoting sustainable urban mobility and increased use of clean and energy efficient vehicles and looking into how to accelerate this process. Cities are crucial for the delivery of this strategy, and electrification of buses is a step towards reducing the fossil fuel dependency of the transportation sector as well as creation of a healthier urban environment.At the same time electric buses are still a challenge for public transport operators due to high acquisition costs of a new vehicle and lack of charging infrastructure. Therefore, conversion of diesel city bus into electric bus is one of the alternatives considered. Economic viability of converted diesel bus into electric bus can be parameterized using an economic model that allows to estimate an impact of critical variables on the total cost of ownership.In this paper, a specific case of operating converted diesel bus into electric bus in a city of Latvia is analyzed. With the help of economic model, critical variables are determined as well as their switching values, which make the use of converted diesel engine bus into an electric vehicle economically viable. It can be used to support decision-making process of public transport stakeholders in the context of the deployment of environmentally friendly public transport.

The task of shopping mall accessibility evaluation is a vivid problem from a business perspective and in the same time from the public sector and urban development. Business entities are interested to have higher accessibility level to increase the profit in the same time the public sector is interested in sustainable development of the urban areas. Current paper presents the approach to evaluate accessibility of the shopping malls by the visitors based on microscopic traffic flow simulation. The proposed approach in based on idea, that the “last mile” challenge in logistics is also actual in case of the shopping malls. The main factors influencing “last mile” in this case are: usually location of the shopping malls is planned to have maximum of passing flows, it means that a network around shopping mall could be congested much and it is quit problematic to get into shopping mall; usually the number of parking lots are limited and in case of shopping mall popularity visitors are spending significant amount of time to find the free lots; also, a very important issue is related with leaving the shopping mall parking area, as it could be the situation that it is easier to get in when to get out from parking. To evaluate the influence of the mentioned above factors to the accessibility it is proposed to utilize microscopic traffic flow simulation. The paper formulates the methodology for evaluation of accessibility of the shopping malls and demonstrates its applicability based on case study.