Eco-driving technology for sustainable road transport: A review

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Road transport consumes significant quantities of fossil fuel and accounts for a significant proportion of CO2 and pollutant emissions worldwide. The driver is a major and often overlooked factor that determines vehicle performance. Eco-driving is a relatively low-cost and immediate measure to reduce fuel consumption and emissions significantly. This paper reviews the major factors, research methods and implementation of eco-driving technology. The major factors of eco-driving are acceleration/deceleration, driving speed, route choice and idling. Eco-driving training programs and in-vehicle feedback devices are commonly used to implement eco-driving skills. After training or using in-vehicle devices, immediate and significant reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions have been observed with slightly increased travel time. However, the impacts of both methods attenuate over time due to the ingrained driving habits developed over the years. These findings imply the necessity of developing quantitative eco-driving patterns that could be integrated into vehicle hardware so as to generate more constant and uniform improvements, as well as developing more effective and lasting training programs and in-vehicle devices. Current eco-driving studies mainly focus on the fuel savings and CO2 reduction of individual vehicles, but ignore the pollutant emissions and the impacts at network levels. Finally, the challenges and future research directions of eco-driving technology are elaborated

The GHG emission reduction toolkit : a case study of Blacktown City, Australia

This PhD thesis is in line with Australia’s national policy of a 26-28% reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions to 2005 levels. According to a review of its climate change policy in 2017, the Australian Government is committed to tackling climate change, while maintaining a strong economy, providing affordable energy and security for industries. This requires new initiatives in existing technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or the emergence of new technologies altogether. Whatever the strategy, the final goal is to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. This national target is now disseminated among different sectors and governmental bodies in Australia, requesting them to submit their action plans against climate change. This includes all Australian City Councils and incorporates Blacktown City Council as the Case Study for this study. As part of the Blacktown City Council’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this research study is the result of collaboration between the Council and Western Sydney University. The authorities of both sides have signed a research collaboration agreement, ample evidence of a local university tackling local problems. This research agreement is unique as it opens a door for other local Councils to collaborate with universities. Blacktown City Council, on the other side of this agreement, can improve its body of knowledge through a comprehensive investigation of greenhouse gas mitigation using its available tools. Therefore, this research study developed a toolkit to help reduce the Council’s GHG Emission