Assessing the importance of car meanings and attitudes in consumer evaluations of electric vehicles

This paper reports findings from a research study which assesses the importance of attitudinal constructs related to general car attitudes and the meanings attached to car ownership over evaluations of electric vehicles (EVs). The data are assessed using principal component analysis to evaluate the structure of the underlying attitudinal constructs. The identified constructs are then entered into a hierarchical regression analysis which uses either positive or negative evaluations of the instrumental capabilities of EVs as the dependent variable. Results show that attitudinal constructs offer additional predictive power over socioeconomic characteristics and that the symbolic and emotive meanings of car ownership are as, if not more, effective in explaining the assessment of EV instrumental capability as compared to issues of cost and environmental concern. Additionally, the more important an individual considers their car to be in their everyday life, the more negative their evaluations are of EVs whilst individuals who claim to be knowledgeable about cars in general and EVs in particular have a lower propensity for negative EV attitudes. However, positive and negative EV attitudes are related to different attitudinal constructs suggesting that it is possible for someone to hold both negative and positive assessments at the same time

A Preliminary Analysis of the Environmental Impacts of the Clean Truck Program in the Alameda Corridor, CA

The San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP) of Los Angeles and Long Beach in Southern California is one of the largest port container complexes in the world, and the largest one is the United States. To decrease the air pollution associated with port operations, a number of measures have been adopted, including the Clean Trucks Program, which was introduced in 2008 to clean up the fleet of drayage trucks serving the SPBP. The objective of this paper is to quantify the reduction in emissions attributable to the Clean Trucks Program, with a focus on Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM2.5). Our approach is innovative as it relies on micro-simulation to capture the link between congestion and pollutant emissions. We find that the Clean Trucks Program could contribute significantly to the emissions of NOx (~27%) and PM2.5 (~25%) for all the freeway traffic in our study area. These preliminary results suggest that the Clean Trucks Program is promising, but its cost-effectiveness should be analyzed

An Analysis of PM and NOx Train Emissions in the Alameda Corridor, CA

The Alameda corridor provides a crucial rail link for moving freight in and out of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, also known as the San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP). While the benefits of this trade are enjoyed by the whole nation, the associated air pollution costs are born mostly by the people who live in the vicinity of the Alameda corridor and the two freeways (the I-710 and the I-110) that serve the Ports. Although they are more energy efficient than trucks, trains contribute heavily to regional air pollution; in addition, rail traffic in the South Coast Air Basin is projected to almost double in the next twenty years. This paper presents an analysis of the emissions and the dispersion of PM and NOx emitted by train operations in and around the Alameda corridor. We find spatial and temporal variations in the dispersion of these pollutants, which justifies our approach. Moreover, the railyards in our study area are responsible for the bulk of PM and NOx emissions (compared to line haul operations). While PM emissions from train operations contribute only a fraction of the recommended maximum concentration, NOx emissions go over recommended guidelines in different areas. The affected population is mostly Latino or African American. Our approach is also useful for better understanding trade-offs between truck and rail freight transport

An Analysis of PM and NOx Train Emissions in the Alameda Corridor, CA

The Alameda corridor provides a crucial rail link for moving freight in and out of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, also known as the San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP). While the benefits of this trade are enjoyed by the whole nation, the associated air pollution costs are born mostly by the people who live in the vicinity of the Alameda corridor and the two freeways (the I-710 and the I-110) that serve the Ports. Although they are more energy efficient than trucks, trains contribute heavily to regional air pollution; in addition, rail traffic in the South Coast Air Basin is projected to almost double in the next twenty years. This paper presents an analysis of the emissions and the dispersion of PM and NOx emitted by train operations in and around the Alameda corridor. We find spatial and temporal variations in the dispersion of these pollutants, which justifies our approach. Moreover, the railyards in our study area are responsible for the bulk of PM and NOx emissions (compared to line haul operations). While PM emissions from train operations contribute only a fraction of the recommended maximum concentration, NOx emissions go over recommended guidelines in different areas. The affected population is mostly Latino or African American. Our approach is also useful for better understanding trade-offs between truck and rail freight transport

An Analysis of the health impacts from PM and NOx emissions resulting from train operations in the Alameda Corridor, CA

The goal of this paper is to estimate the health impacts resulting from exposure to PM and NOx emitted by train operations in the Alameda corridor, a crucial rail link that serves the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, also known as the San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP). We link a pollutant dispersion model (CalPUFF) to a health benefits assessment model (BenMAP) to discover population-based health impacts of PM and NOx emissions from train operations (switching and line haul). After analyzing year 2005 as our baseline, we consider two scenarios that correspond to switching to Tier 2 and Tier 3 locomotives. We find that mortality from PM exposure accounts for the largest health impacts, with health costs in excess of $40 million annually. A shift to Tier 2 locomotives would save approximately half of the annual health costs but the benefits of shifting from Tier 2 to Tier 3 locomotives would be much smaller. This assessment is only partial, however, because of gaps in available health data. To our knowledge, this is the first application of BenMAP to conduct a health assessment at the county level

A Preliminary Analysis of the Environmental Impacts of the Clean Truck Program in the Alameda Corridor, CA

The San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP) of Los Angeles and Long Beach in Southern California is one of the largest port container complexes in the world, and the largest one is the United States. To decrease the air pollution associated with port operations, a number of measures have been adopted, including the Clean Trucks Program, which was introduced in 2008 to clean up the fleet of drayage trucks serving the SPBP. The objective of this paper is to quantify the reduction in emissions attributable to the Clean Trucks Program, with a focus on Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM2.5). Our approach is innovative as it relies on micro-simulation to capture the link between congestion and pollutant emissions. We find that the Clean Trucks Program could contribute significantly to the emissions of NOx (~27%) and PM2.5 (~25%) for all the freeway traffic in our study area. These preliminary results suggest that the Clean Trucks Program is promising, but its cost-effectiveness should be analyzed.Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering

Environmental Impacts of a Major Freight Corridor: A study of the I-710 in California

The San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP) of Los Angeles and Long Beach in Southern California comprise one of the largest container port complexes in the world. The SPBP contribute significantly to both regional and national economies in California, and the US, respectively. However, the ongoing growth and economic benefits of the SPBP are threatened by negative externalities associated with port operations, particularly increasing congestion and air pollution. The objective of this paper is to explore a new approach to estimating vehicle emission impacts of freight corridor operations related to the port area, particularly those associated with heavy duty diesel trucks. The approach involves use of a microscopic traffic simulation model to capture detailed vehicle trajectories and congestion effects (ultimately including the effects of Intelligent Transportation System strategies), emissions modeling, and modeling the spatial dispersion of pollutants in the corridor, to facilitate estimation of the health and environmental justice impacts of freight corridor operations. In this paper we focus on operation of the I-710 freeway in the Alameda Corridor, leading from the SPBP area for about 20 miles toward Los Angeles. In a parallel effort we are also studying rail operations in the same corridor. In the future both the rail and highway elements will be combined to form an integrated, overall assessment of air quality impacts in the corridor. In this paper, seven scenarios were evaluated in addition to the 2005 Base Scenario: replacement of the current fleet of port heavy duty diesel trucks with zero emission trucks (25%, 50%, and 100% of port trucks), elimination of port heavy duty diesel truck trips (25%, 50%, and 100% reductions) that would correspond to shifting more containers to other modes such as rail, and implementation of a truck restricted-lane on I-710 preventing trucks from using the left most lanes. The results show that fleet replacement with cleaner trucks yields the most emission reductions both quantitatively and spatially

An Analysis of PM and NOx Train Emissions in the Alameda Corridor, CA

The Alameda corridor provides a crucial rail link for moving freight in and out of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, also known as the San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP). While the benefits of this trade are enjoyed by the whole nation, the associated air pollution costs are born mostly by the people who live in the vicinity of the Alameda corridor and the two freeways (the I-710 and the I-110) that serve the Ports. Although they are more energy efficient than trucks, trains contribute heavily to regional air pollution; in addition, rail traffic in the South Coast Air Basin is projected to almost double in the next twenty years. This paper presents an analysis of the emissions and the dispersion of PM and NOx emitted by train operations in and around the Alameda corridor. We find spatial and temporal variations in the dispersion of these pollutants, which justifies our approach. Moreover, the railyards in our study area are responsible for the bulk of PM and NOx emissions (compared to line haul operations). While PM emissions from train operations contribute only a fraction of the recommended maximum concentration, NOx emissions go over recommended guidelines in different areas. The affected population is mostly Latino or African American. Our approach is also useful for better understanding trade-offs between truck and rail freight transport.Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering

An Analysis of the health impacts from PM and NOx emissions resulting from train operations in the Alameda Corridor, CA

The goal of this paper is to estimate the health impacts resulting from exposure to PM and NOx emitted by train operations in the Alameda corridor, a crucial rail link that serves the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, also known as the San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP). We link a pollutant dispersion model (CalPUFF) to a health benefits assessment model (BenMAP) to discover population-based health impacts of PM and NOx emissions from train operations (switching and line haul). After analyzing year 2005 as our baseline, we consider two scenarios that correspond to switching to Tier 2 and Tier 3 locomotives. We find that mortality from PM exposure accounts for the largest health impacts, with health costs in excess of $40 million annually. A shift to Tier 2 locomotives would save approximately half of the annual health costs but the benefits of shifting from Tier 2 to Tier 3 locomotives would be much smaller. This assessment is only partial, however, because of gaps in available health data. To our knowledge, this is the first application of BenMAP to conduct a health assessment at the county level.Civil and Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Public Health

An Analysis of the health impacts from PM and NOx emissions resulting from train operations in the Alameda Corridor, CA

The goal of this paper is to estimate the health impacts resulting from exposure to PM and NOx emitted by train operations in the Alameda corridor, a crucial rail link that serves the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, also known as the San Pedro Bay Ports (SPBP). We link a pollutant dispersion model (CalPUFF) to a health benefits assessment model (BenMAP) to discover population-based health impacts of PM and NOx emissions from train operations (switching and line haul). After analyzing year 2005 as our baseline, we consider two scenarios that correspond to switching to Tier 2 and Tier 3 locomotives. We find that mortality from PM exposure accounts for the largest health impacts, with health costs in excess of $40 million annually. A shift to Tier 2 locomotives would save approximately half of the annual health costs but the benefits of shifting from Tier 2 to Tier 3 locomotives would be much smaller. This assessment is only partial, however, because of gaps in available health data. To our knowledge, this is the first application of BenMAP to conduct a health assessment at the county level