Jeffrey Kenworthy from Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences and Helena Svensson from Lund University have investigated the potential to save transport energy in ten Swedish cities through different strategies in private, public and non-motorized modes.
— By looking at factors such as per capita energy use, we have compared the ten Swedish cities with each other and with cities globally in order to calculate the transport energy conservation potential through five scenarios, says Helena Svensson.
K2-researchers Robert Hrelja from Malmö University and Tom Rye from Molde University College have studied what causes measures that can reduce the transport system's car dependence not to be implemented to the extent required to achieve politically decided goals. They have interviewed officials and politicians in Swedish municipalities and asked how they regard the municipality's transport planning.
Jens Portinson Hylander from Lund University has recently defended his thesis which provides a historical understanding of the way public transport is viewed. Jens has studied the development of public transport through a case study of Malmöhus County and Skåne between 1970 and 2020. The study is based on archival records and interviews with individuals who were involved in the planning of public transport in the Skåne region.
“It’s like we expected - users see these means of transport as environmentally friendly, while non-users usually don’t share that same perception”, says Phil Flores, PhD student at K2 and the School of Economics and Management at Lund University.
Knowledge about passengers preferences is important as it can help guiding the prioritisation between different measures when public transport and infrastructure are developed and planned. Ulrik Berggren has used a new methodology to measure and model the behaviour of public transport passengers.
“Public transport passengers are prepared to walk or cycle much longer to reach a line with extra departures or a connection with fewer transfers”, says Ulrik Berggren.
The transition to renewable fuels in the Swedish bus sector has been rapid and in 2020 over 90 percent of all bus kilometers were run on renewable fuels. However, the proportion and type of renewable fuel differs between the country’s different regions.
"The environmental requirements that have governed the public procurement of bus traffic have been of great importance for the rapid introduction of renewable fuels in Sweden", says Malin Aldenius.
“During the pandemic, we have learned that it is possible to influence people's behaviour and that both organisations and individuals have the ability to change and find new creative solutions, when necessary,” says John Hultén.
Car and car emissions cause a variety of problems such as unhealthy city air, noise, accidents and congestion. In addition, emissions from cars contribute to climate change. K2's Alfred Söderberg has published a thesis on various forms of measures to encourage car users to choose other means of transport.
− Soft measures, such as informing about new cycle paths or offering free trial periods with public transport, can be very effective, especially when the measures are aimed at car users who are open to trying something new, says Alfred Söderberg.
− The starting point was to explore and understand what happens in a specific context where smart mobility is introduced, says Kelsey Oldbury, research assistant at K2 and VTI (the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute).
Kelsey has studied the processes of governance and planning of public transport in light of the changing transport sector where new smart mobility services are under development and presented the study in her licentiate thesis this February.
Initial projects are important. Good examples, if it comes to tearing down a freeway in Seoul or out-maneuvering car commuting with speedy trains in Perth, have a crucial impact on change. The sustainable city is possible but often needs an inspiring push for actual decision-making. “Planning for Green and Livable Cities Through Reduced Automobile Dependence” is a global outlook teaching good city planning and sustainable transport – and delivering a strong portion of hope.
We know that public transport both reflects and reinforces tensions and inequalities between different groups in society. The objective of social sustainability has a long history, but as a concept in terms of social sustainable accessibility it is, however, relatively new in the transport subject area in Sweden.
Subsidizing public transport is an incentive to improve transportation for people with low income. However, new K2-research reveals that public transport travelers with low income to a large extent use single tickets.
− If you travel as frequently as the people in our sample, single tickets are much more expensive than, for example, monthly travelcards. But people with low income travel more often with single tickets, says K2 PhD-student Anders Bondemark at Lund University and the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute.
