Browsing by Subject "transport"

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    Children’s route choice during active transportation to school: difference between shortest and actual route
    (2016) Dessing, Dirk; de Vries, Sanne I; Hegeman, Geertje; Verhagen, Evert; van Mechelen, Willem; Pierik, Frank H
    BackgroundThe purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of environmental correlates that are associated with route choice during active transportation to school (ATS) by comparing characteristics of actual walking and cycling routes between home and school with the shortest possible route to school.MethodsChildren (n = 184; 86 boys, 98 girls; age range: 8–12 years) from seven schools in suburban municipalities in the Netherlands participated in the study. Actual walking and cycling routes to school were measured with a GPS-device that children wore during an entire school week. Measurements were conducted in the period April–June 2014. Route characteristics for both actual and shortest routes between home and school were determined for a buffer of 25m from the routes and divided into four categories: Land use (residential, commercial, recreational, traffic areas), Aesthetics (presence of greenery/natural water ways along route), Traffic (safety measures such as traffic lights, zebra crossings, speed bumps) and Type of street (pedestrian, cycling, residential streets, arterial roads). Comparison of characteristics of shortest and actual routes was performed with conditional logistic regression models.ResultsMedian distance of the actual walking routes was 390.1m, whereas median distance of actual cycling routes was 673.9m. Actual walking and cycling routes were not significantly longer than the shortest possible routes. Children mainly traveled through residential areas on their way to school (>80% of the route). Traffic lights were found to be positively associated with route choice during ATS. Zebra crossings were less often present along the actual routes (walking: OR = 0.17, 95 % CI = 0.05–0.58; cycling: OR = 0.31, 95 % CI = 0.14–0.67), and streets with a high occurrence of accidents were less often used during cycling to school (OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.43–0.76). Moreover, percentage of visible surface water along the actual route was higher compared to the shortest routes (walking: OR = 1.04, 95 % CI = 1.01–1.07; cycling: OR = 1.03, 95 % CI = 1.01–1.05).DiscussionThis study showed a novel approach to examine built environmental exposure during active transport to school. Most of the results of the study suggest that children avoid to walk or cycle along busy roads on their way to school.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12966-016-0373-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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    The potential of electric vehicles to contribute to South Africa's greenhouse gas emissions targets and other developmental objectives: How appropriate is the investment in electric vehicles as a NAMA?
    (2014) Dane, Anthony
    "Transport consumes 28% of final energy in South Africa, 97% of which is in liquid fuels, and subsequently contributes 13.1% of South Africa’s greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions. The sector is vital for economic development. As the demand for transport services is expected to grow, the industry needs to reduce its significant environmental impact and at the same time deliver improved mobility in a way that contributes towards South Africa’s sustainable development objectives. This case study forms part of a larger project involving the application of the Action Impact Matrix (AIM) methodology for assessing relative impacts of a variety of GHG mitigation options in South Africa. It aims to understand the potential of stimulating the local market for electric vehicles (EVs) and developing the local electromobility industry to contribute towards reducing GHG emissions and contributing towards South Africa’s other developmental objectives. The focus is on private EVs (and largely passenger ones). Electric trains and other forms of public transport have not been explicitly considered. For simplicity the study has not considered hybrids, plug-in hybrids or alternative technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells. In meeting the aim, this study poses the following two key questions: What are the potential impacts (GHG emissions and other developmental impacts) associated with the increased use of EVs and with the development of an element of the e-mobility value chain in South Africa? How could the government create an enabling environment that stimulates the local EV market and allows the successful development of the local e-mobility industry?"