Personal Carbon Trading and fuel price increases in the transport sector: an exploratory study of public response in the UK

Large reductions of greenhouse gas emissions are required in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Road transport is a significant contributor to UK CO2 emissions, with the majority arising from personal road transport. This paper analyses Personal Carbon Trading (PCT) as a potentially powerful climate change policy tool and presents findings from an exploratory survey of public opinion. A working model of a PCT scheme with a fixed carbon cap was designed to achieve a 60% reduction of CO2 emissions from personal road transport by 2050. A proportion of the annual carbon budget would be given to individuals as a free carbon permit allocation. There is an opportunity to sell unused permits. Fuel price increases (FPI) were recognised as having the potential to achieve an identical emissions target at a much lower cost. A series of individual interviews were conducted to explore opinions related to the impacts, effectiveness, fairness and acceptability of both measures. Bespoke software was used to record behavioural response. The findings indicate that certain design aspects of the PCT scheme led to it being preferred to the FPI and suggest that the potential behavioural response to PCT may be greater than for a FPI. However, given that the sample was small and biased towards the highly educated and those with above average incomes, the findings should be considered as preliminary indications. Further detailed research is required

Factors preventing the use of alternative transport modes to the car in later life

Recent research related to transport gerontology argues that the autonomy, flexibility and independence provided by the car are fundamental in fulfilling travel needs in later life. Statistics show that in the western world the car is the most used mode of travel among the older population. Despite the importance of promoting transport policies to incentivize people to switch to more sustainable forms of transportation, alternatives to the car are still underused by older people. The aim of this scoping review is to analyze the transport barriers affecting the use of alternative modes to the car in later life. The paper investigates how issues related to personal security, health impairments, service provision, affordability, comfort, attitude, built environment, information and awareness of all transport modes influence modal choice. The analysis of the literature shows that despite the benefits provided by public transport, flexible transport services, taxis, walking and cycling, there are still several factors that negatively affect the use of these modes. The paper concludes by reflecting on potential solutions that might help to create a transport system less reliant on the car and which is able to meet the mobility needs of the older population

My_Atmos: Novel Method to Analyse Ultrafine Particles Using an Artificial Intelligence Approach

This presentation will discuss the used of an artificial intelligent method namely the ‘stochastic boosted regression trees’ (BRT) approach that uses an algorithm that applied to an air pollution data namely particle number count concentrations ([PNC]), an ultrafine particles data and particulate matter data case study in United Kingdom and Malaysia. The development of the BRT model involves determining the model algorithm settings of the main model input parameters (learning rate, number of trees and interaction depth) that were tested using the R software (version 3.02) by choosing a10-fold cross-validation approach with combination of lr 0.05 and tc 5 of training set for BRT models. It was found, that the coefficient of determination (R2) value for the BRT best iteration models were above 0.60 for [PNC] in urban environment. The fine and course particle number (FPNC and CPNC) were found to be 0.75 and 0.72 respectively for one of coastal dataset while R2 value of 0.78 and 0.85 were obtained for Malaysia data. Further investigated were performed to rank factor influenced. It was found, that Carbon monoxide (30.28 %) gas and followed by temperature (16.81%) and wind direction (16.4%) were found the high factor influenced PM10 in urban environment. The interaction index (H-index) between parameters to concentration of pollutants were also examined graphically and in numerical form (H-Index). It was found that the H-Index between parameters 0.3 to 0.4 indicated that the BRT technique able to explain the science of air pollution. The consistent results to produce the best model from the best iteration, able to rank the best parameters that influence most to the concentration of predictor and able to predict interaction between variables premise BRT as one of the method or tools to analyse air pollution data

Understanding walking and cycling:summary of key findings and recommendations

It is widely recognized that there is a need to increase levels of active and sustainable travel in British urban areas. The Understanding Walking and Cycling (UWAC) project, funded by the EPSRC, has examined the factors influencing everyday travel decisions and proposes a series of policy measures to increase levels of walking and cycling for short trips in urban areas. A wide range of both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in four English towns (Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester and Worcester), including a questionnaire survey, spatial analysis of the built environment, interviews (static and whilst mobile) and detailed ethnographies. Key findings of the research are that whilst attitudes to walking and cycling are mostly positive or neutral, many people who would like to engage in more active travel fail to do so due to a combination of factors. These can be summarised as: Concerns about the physical environment, especially with regard to safety when walking or cycling; The difficulty of fitting walking and cycling into complex household routines (especially with young children); The perception that walking and cycling are in some ways abnormal things to do. It is suggested that policies to increase levels of walking and cycling should focus not only on improving infrastructure (for instance through fully segregated cycle routes along main roads and restriction on vehicle speeds), but also must tackle broader social, economic, cultural and legal factors that currently inhibit walking and cycling. Together, such changes can create an environment in which driving for short trips in urban areas is seen as abnormal and walking or cycling seem the obvious choices. A joint project by by Lancaster University, Oxford Brookes University and the University of Leeds