Recent performance indicators in the European road freight transport sector show there is an excess capacity. To shed light on this, this paper studies two aspects of capacity utilisation in trucking: the extent of empty running and the load factor. Using a joint econometric modelling framework, the paper shows that they can be explained as a function of haul, carrier, and truck characteristics. For estimation, a unique dataset from the Danish heavy vehicle trip diary was used. The results indicate distance and being a for-hire carrier have a positive effect on capacity utilisation, whereas the effect of truck size is non-linear.

There has been a growing interest in understanding how firms allocate their trucks across hauls, and how this allocation changes under various economic environments. This study investigates how variations in route/haul, carrier and vehicle characteristics affect the optimal vehicle size choice and the associated choice of shipment size. We show that the two choices are derived from the same optimization problem. There can be a continuum of shipment sizes, but decision-makers in freight transport have to choose from a limited number of vehicle alternatives. Therefore, we use a discrete-continuous econometric model where shipment size is modeled as a continuous variable, and vehicle size/type choice as a discrete variable. The results indicate that when faced with higher demand, and during longer trips firms are more likely to use heavier vehicles and ship in larger quantities which suggest that firms are realizing economies of scale and economies of distance. The study also discusses the effect of vehicle operating cost on the vehicle selection process and its policy implications.

In freight transportation, decisions regarding the choice of transport mode (or chains of modes) and shipment size are closely linked. Building on this basic insight, in this paper we estimate and review various joint econometric models using the Swedish National Commodity Flow surveys. Robust parameter estimates from this exercise will be used to update the current deterministic Swedish national freight model system (the SAMGODS model) to a stochastic one.

This paper presents estimation results for models of transport chain and shipment size choice, as well as an implementation of the estimated disaggregate models (for two commodity groups), in the context of the national freight transport model for Sweden. The new model is a disaggregate and stochastic (logit) model, whereas the existing Swedish national model is deterministic. One advantage of the new approach is that it bases the underlying behavior of shippers on a stronger empirical foundation (that is micro-data from the Swedish Commodity Flow Survey, CFS). Another advantage is that it overcomes a well-known disadvantage of deterministic models that lead to implausibly large responses to changes in scenario or policy variables. Although estimation and implementation of aggregate stochastic models were done before, in the context of a national freight transport forecasting model, we think this is the first implementation of disaggregate freight transport chain and shipment size models estimated on choice data for individual shipments, certainly in Europe. We carried out a number of model runs with both versions of the implemented model to compare elasticities and found that transport cost and time elasticities for tonne-km are smaller (in absolute values) in the disaggregate stochastic model than in their deterministic counterparts.

We examine the effect of weather, accessibility and built-environment characteristics on overall travel experience as well as the experience with the latest trips. These are factors that are often disregarded in the travel satisfaction literature even though they are believed to largely influence the first mile of the door-to-door trip. This study fills a research gap in investigating all these factors by using, amongst other, a relatively large travel satisfaction survey from years 2009 to 2015 and by focusing on urban and peri-urban geographical contexts, the city and county of Stockholm (Sweden), respectively. The ordered logit model results show that county dwellers living close to a metro station and in well linked-to-all areas report higher overall travel satisfaction evaluations. In addition, precipitation and ground covered with snow have a negative influence on travel satisfaction. Our findings indicate that built-environment characteristics exert a rather weak influence on the travel experience, especially in the peri-urban context. However, some aspects such as living in areas with medium densities, low income and with high safety perceptions around public transport stations are associated with higher satisfaction levels. In turn, areas with single land uses are found to have lower travel satisfactions. These results are important for public transport planners and designers in devising measures to prevent and mitigate the negative outcome of some weather conditions and to conceive better designed transit oriented developments.

Intermodala transporter och kombinerade transporter används ofta synonymt idag. Begreppet kombinerade transporter har dock funnits mycket längre och avsåg då transporter där järnvägen och lastbilar kombinerades. Numer räknas en kombinerad transport som att lasten antingen går på järnväg, inre vattenvägar eller till havs och med lastbil, eller mellan två trafikslag där inte lastbil är inkluderat.

En intermodal transport föregås av ett transportbeslut och för många typer av gods är inte en intermodal transport rimlig, till exempel för virkes- och bulktransporter, medan det för andra varor, såsom detaljhandels- och livsmedelsvaror, finns en valmöjlighet hur godset ska transporteras. Det är då som aktivt beslut kan tas för en intermodal transport, givet att den som äger transportbeslutet känner till transportsättet i fråga. Transportbeslutet är också styrt av tåglägen, finns inte kapacitet på spåren kan inte transporter göras med järnväg. Detta kan potentiellt innebära att vissa (tåg)affärer/transporter inte blir av och godset går på vägen istället.

City bus drivers spend hours driving under time pressure, in congested traffic and in a monotonous sitting position. This leads to unhealthy working conditions, especially in terms of physical and psychological stress. The aim of this study is to investigate whether an active steering system can alleviate the musculoskeletal stress involved in manoeuvring a bus. Twenty bus drivers drove a city bus equipped with the Volvo dynamic steering (VDS) support system in real traffic. Steering effort was evaluated with electromyography and with a questionnaire. Compared to baseline, VDS significantly reduced the required muscle activity by on average 15–25% while turning, and up to 68% in the part of the manoeuvre requiring maximum effort. The bus drivers believed that VDS will help reduce neck and shoulder problems, and they expressed a desire to have VDS installed in their own bus.

Indicators based on visual time-sharing have been used to investigate drivers' visual behaviour during additional task execution. However, visual time-sharing analyses have been restricted to additional tasks with well-defined temporal start and end points and a dedicated visual target area. We introduce a method to automatically extract visual time-sharing sequences directly from eye tracking data. This facilitates investigations of systems, providing continuous information without well-defined start and end points. Furthermore, it becomes possible to investigate time-sharing behavior with other types of glance targets such as the mirrors. Time-sharing sequences are here extracted based on between-glance durations. If glances to a particular target are separated by less than a time-based threshold value, we assume that they belong to the same information intake event. Our results indicate that a 4-s threshold is appropriate. Examples derived from 12 drivers (about 100 hours of eye tracking data), collected in an on-road investigation of an in-vehicle information system, are provided to illustrate sequence-based analyses. This includes the possibility to investigate human-machine interface designs based on the number of glances in the extracted sequences, and to increase the legibility of transition matrices by deriving them from time-sharing sequences instead of single glances. More object-oriented glance behavior analyses, based on additional sensor and information fusion, are identified as the next future step. This would enable automated extraction of time-sharing sequences not only for targets fixed in the vehicle's coordinate system, but also for environmental and traffic targets that move independently of the driver's vehicle.

Percent road center (PRC) is a performance indicator which is sensitive to driver distraction. The original definition of PRC is based on fixation data extracted from eye movement recordings, but it has also been suggested that PRC can be determined directly from the gaze data without segmenting it into saccades and fixations. The primary aim of this paper is to investigate if this is the case.

Naturalistic driving data from a small scale field operational test comprising seven vehicles was used in the evaluation. It was found that PRC time traces based on gaze data and fixation data, respectively, were highly similar (correlation coefficient=0.95, average wavelet semblance=0.84) except for an absolute amplitude difference of about 8%. This indicates that the two approaches can be used interchangeably and that the processing step of segmenting gaze data into saccades and fixations can be left out.

In addition to this finding, design issues related to the calculation of PRC are investigated. Especially, the impact of gaze cases pointing towards the intersection of the road centre area and the centre rear mirror were investigated. Results lead to conclude that gazes and fixations on the centre rear mirror should be removed from the PRC calculations, as they may negatively influence the correctness of the performance indicator.

Visual distraction among cyclists interacting with their mobile phones is a growing concern. Yet, very little research has actually investigated how cyclists apply visual strategies and adapt task execution depending on the traffic situation. The aim of this study is to investigate visual behaviour of cyclists when conducting self-paced (initiated by the cyclist) vs. system-paced (initiated by somebody else) smartphone tasks in traffic. Twenty-two cyclists completed a track in real traffic while listening to music, receiving and making calls, receiving and sending text messages, and searching for information on the internet. The route and the types of tasks were controlled, but the cyclists could choose rather freely when and where along the route to carry out the tasks, thus providing semi-naturalistic data on compensatory behaviour. The results show that the baseline and music conditions were similar in terms of visual behaviour. When interacting with the phone, it was found that glances towards the phone mostly came at the expense of glances towards traffic irrelevant gaze targets and also led to shortened glance durations to traffic relevant gaze targets, while maintaining the number of glances. This indicates that visual “spare capacity” is used for the execution of the telephone tasks. The task type influenced the overall task duration and the overall glance intensity towards the phone, but not the mean nor maximum duration of individual glances. Task pacing was the factor that influenced visual behaviour the most, with longer mean and maximum glance durations for self-paced tasks. In conclusion, the cyclists used visual strategies to integrate the handling of mobile phones into their cycling behaviour. Glances directed towards the phone did not lead to traffic relevant gaze targets being missed. In system-paced scenarios, the cyclists checked the traffic more frequently and intensively than in self-paced tasks. This leads to the assumption that cyclists prepare for self-initiated tasks by for example choosing a suitable location. Future research should investigate whether these strategies also exists amongst drivers and other road user groups.

European railways have been reorganized to allow for market competition. Thus, train services have been vertically separated from infrastructure management which allows several operators to compete. Different ways have emerged for vertical separation, capacity allocation and track access charges. This paper reviews important deregulation aspects from a number of European countries. The study compares how competition has been introduced and regulated with focus on describing capacity allocation and track access charges. Although guided by the same European legislation, we conclude that the studied railways have different deregulation outcomes, e.g. market organization, capacity allocation. Besides, few countries have so far managed to have efficient and transparent capacity allocation. Although allowed by the legislation, market-based allocation is absent or never used. To foster more competition which can yield substantial social benefits, the survey indicates that most European railways still need to develop and experiment with more efficient and transparent capacity allocation procedures. © 2021 Vti Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute. Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Passenger origin–destination data is an important input for public transport planning. In recent years, new data sources have become increasingly common through the use of the automatic collection of entry counts, exit counts and link flows. However, collecting such data can be sometimes costly. The value of additional data collection hence has to be weighed against its costs. We study the value of additional data for estimating time-dependent origin–destination matrices, using a case study from the London Piccadilly underground line. Our focus is on how the precision of the estimated matrix increases when additional data on link flow, destination count and/or average travel distance is added, starting from origin counts only. We concentrate on the precision of the most policy-relevant estimation outputs, namely, link flows and station exit flows. Our results suggest that link flows are harder to estimate than exit flows, and only using entry and exit data is far from enough to estimate link flows with any precision. Information about the average trip distance adds greatly to the estimation precision. The marginal value of additional destination counts decreases only slowly, so a relatively large number of exit station measurement points seem warranted. Link flow data for a subset of links hardly add to the precision, especially if other data have already been added. © 2021, The Author(s).

Social cost-benefit analysis is often used to analyse transport investments, and can also be used for transport operation planning and capacity allocation. If it is to be used for resolving capacity conflicts, however, it is important to know whether transit agencies' timetable requests are consistent with the cost-benefit framework, which is based on passenger preferences. We show how a public transport agency's implicit valuations of waiting time and crowding can be estimated by analysing timetables, apply the method to commuter train timetables in Stockholm, and compare the implicit valuations to the corresponding passenger valuations in the official Swedish cost-benefit analysis guidelines. The results suggest that the agency puts a slightly lower value on waiting time and crowding than the passenger valuations codified in the official guidelines. We discuss possible reasons for this and implications for using cost-benefit analysis for capacity allocation. We also find that optimal frequencies are more sensitive to the waiting time valuation than to that of crowding. © 2021 The Authors

Many models have been developed and used to analyse the costs and benefits of transport investments. Similar tools can also be used for transport operation planning and capacity allocation. An example of such use is the assessment of commuter train operations and service frequency. In this study, we analyse the societally optimal frequency for commuter train services. The aim is to reveal the implicit valuation (by the public transport agency) of the waiting time and the in-vehicle crowding in the commuting system. We use an analytic CBA model to formulate the societal costs of a certain service frequency and analyse the societally optimal frequencies during peak and off-peak hours. Comparing the optimal and the actual frequencies allows to reveal the implicit valuations of waiting time and crowding. Using relevant data from the commuter train services in Stockholm on a typical working day in September 2015 (e.g., OD matrix, cost parameters), we perform a numerical analysis on certain lines and directions. We find the societally optimal frequency and the implicit valuation of waiting time and crowding. The results suggest that the public transport agency in Stockholm (i.e., SL) adopted service frequencies that are generally slightly higher than societally optimum which can be explained by a higher implicit valuation of waiting time and crowding. We also find that the optimal frequencies are more sensitive to the waiting time valuation rather than that of crowding.

Innovations in high-speed rail (HSR) have had substantial effects on different stakeholders within and outside the railway system. As part of the European Shift2Rail research programme, several innovative solutions are developed for, among others, improving the HSR infrastructure. The Joint Undertaking behind this research program has set objectives for these innovations in terms of punctuality, capacity, and life cycle costs. With a focus on infrastructure-related innovations for HSR, this paper aims at assessing their impacts in relation to these targets. We review the relevant research literature about the effects of HSR innovations and their assessment. The paper presents a hybrid assessment methodology combing different approaches to assess capacity, punctuality, and cost effects. This contributes to reducing the existing gap that is found in the research literature. Based on a reference scenario for HSR line and collected data from different stakeholders, the results indicate that infrastructure innovations in HSR, being developed within the European Shift2Rail research programme, can contribute to reaching the target set for punctuality. Further innovations in HSR infrastructure and/or other railway assets may be needed to reach additional targets and for more accurate improvement values giving more insights into their impacts. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Methods for economic assessment are often used in the rail sector to evaluate large infrastructure investments such as new high-speed lines. With larger networks and ageing infrastructure, these methods can also be used for planning maintenance. In this paper, we focus on the newly introduced concept of maintenance windows in Sweden. These are pre-allocated slots in the train timetable dedicated to performing, among others, periodic/frequent maintenance activities. To justify the pre-allocation of such windows, this study presents a method to find minimal utilization rates depending on window designs and traffic situations. Using a cost-benefit approach, the windows are assessed using a total social cost including work costs, loss in traffic production and reliability gains in future traffic. Based on a case study from the Southern main line in Sweden, we study the minimal utilization rate in different test scenarios, i.e., night or day shifts, asset degradation functions and designs of maintenance windows. The results show that lower utilization rates (4-42%) can be accepted during low-volume traffic or for partial closures, while higher utilization rates (47-83%) are required for full closures during high-volume traffic. Whether the rates are measured as the share of used window time or the share of utilized windows is less important, especially when higher utilization is required. Sensitivity analyses of asset knowledge indicate that parameters such as asset degradation function and minimum asset quality (and to a lesser extent traffic volume, discount rate and failure likelihood) can have a substantial effect on the minimum required utilization rates.

Methods for economic assessment, e.g., cost-benefit analysis, are often used in the rail sector to evaluate large infrastructure investments such as building new high-speed railway lines. With larger railway networks and aging infrastructure, these methods can also be used for maintenance planning decisions. In this paper, we focus on basic maintenance and the newly introduced concept of maintenance windows in Sweden. These are pre-allocated slots in the annual train timetable dedicated to performing, among others, periodic/frequent maintenance activities such as inspections, maintenance and repairs. To justify the pre-allocation of such windows, this study presents a method to find minimal utilization rates depending on window designs and traffic situations. Using a cost-benefit approach, the maintenance windows are assessed using a total social cost including maintenance work costs, loss in traffic production and reliability gains in future traffic. Based on a case study from the Southern main line in Sweden, we study the minimal utilization rate in different test scenarios, i.e., night or day shifts, asset degradation functions and designs of maintenance windows. The results show that lower utilization rates (5-50%) can be accepted during low-volume traffic or for partial closures, while higher utilization rates (50-90%) are required for full closures during high-volume traffic. Whether the rates are measured as share of used window time or share of utilized windows is less important, especially when higher utilization is required.

On deregulated railway markets, efficient capacity allocation is important. We study the case where commercial trains and publicly controlled traffic (“commuter trains”) use the same railway infrastructure and hence compete for capacity. We develop a method that can be used by an infrastructure manager trying to allocate capacity in a socially efficient way. The method calculates the loss of social benefits incurred by changing the commuter train timetable to accommodate a commercial train path request and based on this calculates a reservation price for the train path request. If the commercial operator’s willingness-to-pay for the train path exceeds the loss of social benefits, its request is approved. The calculation of social benefits takes into account changes in commuter train passengers’ travel times, waiting times, transfers and crowding, and changes in operating costs for the commuter train operator(s). The method is implemented in a microscopic simulation program, which makes it possible to test the robustness and feasibility of timetable alternatives. We show that the method is possible to apply in practice by demonstrating it in a case study from Stockholm, illustrating the magnitudes of the resulting commercial train path prices. We conclude that marginal societal costs of railway capacity in Stockholm are considerably higher than the current track access charges.

On deregulated railway markets, efficient capacity allocation is important. We study the case where commercial trains and publicly controlled traffic (“commuter trains”) use the same railway infrastructure and hence compete for capacity. We develop a method that can be used by an infrastructure manager trying to allocate capacity in a socially efficient way. The method calculates the loss of societal benefits incurred by changing the commuter train timetable to accommodate a commercial train path request, and based on this calculates a reservation price for the train path request. If the commercial operator's willingness-to-pay for the train path exceeds the loss of societal benefits, its request is approved. The calculation of these benefits takes into account changes in commuter train passengers’ travel times, waiting times, transfers and crowding, and changes in operating costs for the commuter train operator(s). The method is implemented in a microscopic simulation program, which makes it possible to test the robustness and feasibility of timetable alternatives. We show that the method is possible to apply in practice by demonstrating it in a case study from Stockholm, illustrating the magnitudes of the resulting commercial train path prices. We conclude that marginal societal costs of railway capacity in Stockholm are considerably higher than the current track access charges.

The transport sector needs to become sustainable and public transport has an important role to play. Green public procurement has proven to have great potential to influence the transition to a sustainable public transport sector. Sweden is a good example of a country that uses public procurement in the public transport sector to a large extent and has at the same time come far in the transition to renewable fuel. The aim of this study is to examine what role public transport authorities (PTAs) can have in supporting more environmentally sustainable public transport through public procurement. This was done by a content analysis regarding the expressions of environmental requirements historically, over a ten-year period, in tender documents in Sweden, followed by a workshop where the implications of the findings and future tender processes were discussed with relevant actors. The results showed that all the environmental requirements have become stricter during the studied period, but indicate a tendency for higher use of environmental requirements in tendering of larger areas as well as in tendering of public transport within cities. Specifically, for requirements for fuel, the same tenders also use specific requirements to a higher extent. However, the subsequent workshop discussions indicated that the use of specific requirements is one reason for disagreement among involved actors. Overall, this study of the Swedish public transport case showed that PTAs have a large potential to support more environmentally sustainable solutions using environmental requirements in public procurement.

Smart cities, participatory sensing as well as location data available in communication systems and social networks generates a vast amount of heterogeneous mobility data that can be used for traffic management. This chapter gives an overview of the different data sources and their characteristics and describes a framework for utilizing the various sources efficiently in the context of traffic management. Furthermore, different types of traffic models and algorithms are related to both the different data sources as well as some key functionalities of active traffic management, for example short-term prediction and control.

Currently, there is a great need for new methods to collect travel data. Traditional methods have considerable drawbacks and, at the same time, the models used to analyse the transport system require more and more detailed and high-quality data. Since most smartphones are equipped with various sensors that can be used to determine the location of the smartphone, and since smartphones are integrated in the daily life of most people, they provide an unprecedented opportunity for large-scale travel data collection. This method has a great potential to solve the problems related to the estimation of distance/travel time, geographic coding of departure/destination locations and forgotten trips and it will also provide a more detailed and extensive data set.

In a recently completed research project the feasibility of replacing or complementing the traditional travel diary, with a suite of tools that make use of smartphone collected travel data has been evaluated. The advantages and disadvantages of the traditional method and the proposed method were studied. For a fair comparison, both methods have been tested in the same city, at the same time, and with the same respondents. To achieve the objectives of the project, MEILI, a system that consists of a smartphone application for capturing the movement of users and a web application for allowing the users to annotate their movement, has been deployed. In total 2142 trips were collected and annotated by 171 users. 51 of the users annotated trips covering more than a week. The main findings of the paper are that smartphone based data collection is feasible, that the algorithms to save battery work well and that trips of the same respondent vary considerably depending on day of the week.

Ett frågeformulär, som innehöll frågor om upplevd attraktivitet, otrygghet och olika typer av risker förknippade med olika transportmedel (bil, stadsbuss, spårvagn, regionalbuss, pendeltåg och tunnelbana), fylldes i av 59 personer som besökte ett bibliotek i Stockholm. Resultaten visade att upplevd attraktivitet verkar påverkas i högre utsträckning av upplevda risker och oro för att bli utsatt för besvärande situationer, hot eller våld än upplevda risker för att råka ut för trafikolyckor. Olika omständigheter, exempelvis att hållplatsen är avsides belägen, ansågs bidra i hög utsträckning till känslor av otrygghet när man går till respektive väntar vid en hållplats. Vid resor med kollektiva transportmedel känner man sig särskilt otrygg om exempelvis förare/personal har dålig uppsikt över fordonet. Kvinnor uppgav i högre utsträckning än män att olika omständigheter bidrar till känslor av otrygghet. Flertalet respondenter uppgav att de undviker att resa med tunnelbana röd linje under kvällar, särskilt på helger. Respondenterna uppgav att de hade en positivare attityd till spårvagn än till regionalbuss och pendeltåg, vilket inte var fallet i en motsvarande studie i Norrköping. Detta resultat kan förklaras av en väl fungerande introducering av Tvärbanan i Stockholm

Föreliggande rapport har till syfte att översiktligt presentera den vetenskapliga litteraturen om avgiftsfri kollektivtrafik utifrån konkreta fall i Europa där detta har införts. Fokus i rapporten är på fullskalig avgiftsfri kollektivtrafik och önskar belysa varför avgiftsfri kollektivtrafik införts samt vilka effekter och konsekvenser det medfört i fallen Hasselt, Belgien, Aubagne, Frankrike, Frýdek-Místek, Tjeckien, Tallinn, Estland samt Polen.

Sammantaget har resandet med kollektivtrafiken ökat efter införandet av avgiftsfri kollektivtrafik i de studerade fallen. I alla studerade städer har det samtidigt med introduktionen gjorts satsningar på kollektivtrafik i stort genom bland annat fler linjer, större turtäthet och nya fordon, vilket innebär att det är problematiskt att härleda ökningen till endast införandet av avgiftsfri kollektivtrafik. I samtliga fall där det finns tillgängliga data går det att skönja en överflyttning från andra färdmedel till kollektivtrafik om än i olika utsträckning. 

Alla kollektivtrafiksystem som analyserats i rapporten var redan innan införandet av avgiftsfri kollektivtrafik starkt beroende av offentliga medel eftersom biljetterna endast stod för en mycket liten del av de samlade intäkterna. Införandet av avgiftsfri kollektivtrafik innebar i samtliga fall ett inkomstbortfall som krävde ytterligare subventioner. I Aubagne och Tallinn infördes olika former av skatter för att finansiera inkomstbortfallet, medan övriga studerade städer täckte inkomstbortfallet genom den löpande budgeten. 

Baserat på den vetenskapliga litteraturöversikten av de utvalda fallen är det möjligt att göra följande reflektioner. För det första är avgiftsfri kollektivtrafik en åtgärd som framför allt införts i mindre städer med begränsade kollektivtrafiksystem och där det redan innan införandet antingen varit låga biljettpriser eller förekommit gratisresande för stora grupper. För det andra har avgiftsfri kollektivtrafik genomförts ofta tillsammans med andra åtgärder, till exempel nya eller uppdaterade fordon, en utbyggnad av kollektivtrafiknätet samt restriktioner för biltrafiken. Att kombinera morötter och piskor i ett samlat paket kan vara ett sätt att kunna driva igenom impopulära åtgärder. Vidare är avgiftsfri kollektivtrafik inget mirakelmedel för ökat kollektivtrafikresande och minskat resande med bil. För att det ska ge effekt behövs ett i grunden väl fungerande kollektivtrafiksystem. Vilken effekt avgiftsfri kollektivtrafik har på resandet beror till stor del på hur situationen ser ut innan införandet. Slutligen, det finns en stor risk att merparten av det ökade resandet med kollektivtrafiken kommer från gång och cykel, vilket kan innebära ökade kostnader för det offentliga och negativa effekter för miljö och hälsa. 

Avgiftsfri kollektivtrafik är inget mirakelmedel, men kan betraktas som en möjlig åtgärd i ett större paket av åtgärder som sammantaget kan bidra till ett mer hållbart transportsystem, skriver Jens Alm och John Hultén, Nationellt kunskapscentrum för kollektivtrafik.

I dagens samhälle med klimatförändringar och miljöproblem ses cykeln som ett allt viktigare transportmedel för att minska bilanvändning. Trafikverket konstaterade att ökad cykling medför stora vinster för samhället, inte minst för miljön. Således borde cykel prioriteras allt mer i planeringen, vilket inte alltid görs. Hur man planerar cykelinfrastruktur och vad som klassas som bra eller dålig cykelinfrastruktur kan skilja sig mellan olika kommuner, inte minst beroende på kommunens storlek, planeringstradition och liknande. Föreliggande rapport är slutprodukten av projektet som handlar om möjligheter och svårigheter för kommunerna att implementera strategisk cykelinfrastruktur i Sverige. Vidare syftar rapporten till att ge kommuner rekommendationer om hur de arbeta vidare med frågorna och förslag på hur de kan övervinna eventuella svårigheter.

Syftet med denna rapport inom projektet ”Planering för strategisk cykelinfrastruktur” är att analysera hur kommunerna idag arbetar med planering av strategisk cykelinfrastruktur och vilka möjligheter och hinder planerare möter i deras arbete kring dessa frågor. Mer konkret handlar studien om vilka åtgärder som tjänsteman med ansvar och engagemang för cykling bedömer som viktigast för att öka cyklandet och deras erfarenheter av att få sådana åtgärder genomförda.

För att uppnå det ovannämnda syftet genomfördes en intervjustudie bland städer, kommuner och regioner som deltar i organisationen Svenska Cykelstäder – en organisation bestående av 31 kommuner samt fyra regioner och som framhåller att de målmedvetet arbetar för ökad och säkrare cykling. 

En slutsats i rapporten är att bilnormen fortfarande är stark. En illustration av detta är att det är problematiskt att förbättra och utveckla infrastrukturen för cykel på bekostnad av bilen. Dock är möjligheterna betydligt större att prioritera cykel vid nybyggnation där förutbestämda vanor och rutiner som är svåra att förändra ännu inte är fastlagda. Detta kan ses som en möjlighet att åtminstone vid nya utvecklingsprojekt förbättra cykelinfrastrukturen i svenska kommuner. Ytterligare en slutsats är att vissa kommuner, trots svårigheter, är långt framme i arbetet med att främja cykel och att de på en förhållandevis bred front arbetar aktivt med åtgärder för ökad cykling såsom förbättrad och mer cykelinfrastruktur i form av cykelvägar- och parkeringar, åtgärder för att prioritera cykel framför bil samt beteendepåverkande åtgärder. En tredje slutsats är att det finns kommuner som är medlemmar i organisationen Svenska Cykelstäder där prioriteringen av cykel trots medlemskapet inte verkar stå högst upp på den trafikpolitiska agendan.

Rapporten avslutas med en rad rekommendationer som grundar sig på forskningen som genomfördes i detta projekt och inte enbart på intervjustudien som genomfördes inför denna rapport. Dessa behandlar samverkan mellan kommunerna, mellan kommunerna och regionerna och mellan kommunerna och Trafikverket. Vidare rekommenderas nationella standarder för utformningen av cykelinfrastruktur som grundar sig på aktuell forskning. Utöver detta rekommenderas att cykelns betydelse i olika dokument borde öka och bilens betydelse borde minska. 

I denna rapport redogörs för resultat från en genomförbarhetsstudie, innefattande dels en enkätstudie, dels en workshop. Syftet har varit att identifiera vilka frågor som i ett svenskt utvecklingsarbete behöver prioriteras, integreras och samordnas av olika aktörer ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv, för att skapa underlag och förslag på strategiskt initiativ kring det utvecklingsarbete som Trafikverket och Cykelcentrum gemensamt koordinerar. 

Enkäten riktade sig till olika svenska aktörer, i form av experter som representerar olika nyckelområden rörande främjande av cykling, så som forskare, planerare på kommunal och regional nivå, statliga myndigheter samt intressenter från bland annat Svenska Turistföreningen, Nationella cykelrådet, Cykelfrämjandet, Svenska Cykelstäder och Svensk Cykling. Analysen baseras dels på de fasta svarsalternativen, dels på de öppna kommentarerna som följde frågorna. 

Resultaten visar på en rad olika aspekter där arbetet med att främja cykling kan och bör förbättras och utvecklas mot det gemensamma målet för en hållbar samhällsutveckling. Övergripande visar resultaten på en diskrepans mellan mål och utförande. Det kan till exempel handla om upplevda brister för samordning och samverkan på och mellan olika nivåer (nationell, regional och lokal), finansiering och kunskap. Respondenter uttrycker också att bilen fortfarande är norm, vilket försvårar arbetet med främjandet av cykling. För främjande av cykling behöver förändringar ske med ökad prioritering av cykel genom exempelvis förändringar i regler/föreskrifter och i infrastrukturen. För detta krävs dock, enligt respondenterna, ökad finansiering samt förbättringar avseende statistik och mätmetoder. En ytterligare relaterad faktor är bättre samordning och samverkan mellan olika aktörer, på nationell, regional och kommunal nivå. 

Fem områden har identifierats som särskilt viktiga för fortsatt forskning: 

• nationell samordning och den nationella cykelstrategin 

• data, samhällsekonomiska analyser och mätmetoder 

• arbete och ansvar för barn och ungas cykling till och från skolan 

• kombinerat resande mellan cykel och kollektivtrafik 

• cykling och innovation.

Covid-19 är en extraordinär händelse som har fått och kommer att få konsekvenser för bussföraryrket. Bussförare lyfts tillsammans med arbetstagare inom vård och omsorg fram av Arbetsmiljöverket som en särskilt utsatt yrkesgrupp då de i sitt dagliga arbete kommer i kontakt med många resenärer och många potentiella smittspridare. Trots smittorisken måste bussförare fortsätta arbeta för att kollektivtrafiken ska fungera och bidra till att upprätthålla kritiska samhällsfunktioner. Olika åtgärder som direkt eller indirekt syftat till att skydda bussförare från att bli smittade kan, menar vi, få följder för bussförarna på längre sikt. 

Föreliggande rapport syftar till att översiktligt rapportera resultaten från forsknings-projektet CYNKA: Kombinerad mobilitet mellan cykel och kollektivtrafik för regional Arbetspendling. Rapporten sammanfattar de olika delar som utgjort projektet som pågått under perioden 2019–2022.

Tidigt i projektet genomfördes en litteraturstudie. I ett andra skede i forskningsprocessen genomfördes dels studier av policydokument, dels intervjuer med planerare, strateger och politiker. I ett avslutande skede av projektet arrangerades en workshop.

En slutsats av studien var att både behovet av koordinering mellan olika aktörer och planeringsnivåer och behovet av ändrad inriktning gör det svårt att gå från mål och strategi till praktik och genomslag i planeringen. Trots det är det nödvändigt att försöka hitta sätt att överkomma dessa barriärer om mål om kombinerat och hållbart resande ska kunna nås. En nyckelfråga handlar om ansvarsfördelningen mellan aktörer och att få till stånd ett tydligare helhetsperspektiv på kombinerade resor.

Due to the many remaining obstacles before reliability and safety can sufficiently be guaranteed for high-level automated vehicles (AVs), teleoperation or remote operation of partially automated vehicles by a human driver has become increasingly interesting to consider. However, remote operation, including remote driving, has so far only received little attention in legal scientific and transportation literature. This paper aims to establish some basic legal matters for remote driving by examining its regulatory development in three different jurisdictions. A combination of methods is employed including an examination of literature regarding AVs and their regulation. The main result is that current regulation in the examined jurisdictions intentionally addresses a future with high-level AVs, but to a large extent excludes regulatory details for remote operation. In conclusion, this paper argues that both present and coming regulation for automated vehicles ought to be more near future-oriented and address the concept of remote operation more explicitly. This, for regulation to be better in touch with current technology, for the benefit of a wider acceptance in society, for legal certainty, but also for innovation support and stability for investments in technology. © 2021 IEEE.

The use of Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) as a tool for selecting transport investments is often questioned. It is not unusual that politicians or others in the public debate argue that the outcome of a CBA completely rely on assumptions concerning a particular input factor, such as valuation of CO2 emissions or future fuel price. This paper explores whether the relative ranking of CBA outcomes are robust with respect to some key inputs in transport demand analysis driving cost, public transport fare and economic growth. We study six different infrastructure objects (three road and three rail objects) and four alternative assumptions on input factors compared to a reference scenario.

The findings suggest that single input factors in a CBA, individually have a small impact on the ranking of the studied investments. In our model calculations we observe no change in rank between a road and a rail object.

This text is the result of the Thematic Group Traffic Management of the ECTRI – European Conference of Transport Research Institutes. As a position paper, it states the challenges that the European Research Agenda will have to face if the following goals for a future transportation system are considered: • User-aware mobility • Zero accidents and zero emissions • Minimum space, time, energy & costs for transport It describes in a concise manner the research approaches needed to achieve the realization of these goals.

Region Hovedstaden har i sin regionale vækst- og udviklingsstrategi (ReVUS) sat nogle strategiske rammer for en grøn og innovativ metropol med høj vækst og livskvalitet. Et af de strategiske pejlemærker handler om ’Effektiv og bæredygtig mobilitet’.

Hovedstadsområdet har i dag store trafikale udfordringer med kø på vejene samt trængsel i busser og tog. Udfordringerne vil kun vokse i de kommende år, hvor indbyg-gertallet forventes at stige med over 200.000. Der er behov for en sammenhængende planlægning, som kan medvirke til at reducere trængslen og dermed understøtte den økonomiske vækst og udvikling.

Region Hovedstaden har taget initiativ til et arbejde, der skal skabe større sammenhæng i den kollektive trafik i den danske del af Greater Copenhagen. Hvis den kollektive trafik skal løfte en større del af trængselsudfordringen,skal der arbejdes på at udbygge kapaciteten, forbedre servicen og sikre en større sammenhæng på tværs af transportformerne. Køer på motorveje og trængsel i den kollektive transport er dyrt for samfundet.

Til at understøtte arbejdet har Region Hovedstaden nedsat en ekspertgruppe, der med faglige briller kommer med sit bud på, hvilke udfordringer den kollektive trafik skal kunne imødekomme. Oplægget tager udgangspunkt i paraplyorganisationen Din Offentlige Transport (DOT), og hensigten er:

• at påpege styrker og svagheder i den nuværende organisation
• at komme med bud på, hvordan man inden for den nu-værende lovgivning kan imødegå nogle af den kollek-tive trafiks udfordringer
• at komme med bud på, hvordan man med en ændret lovgivning yderligere kan forbedre den kollektive trafiks sammenhæng og attraktivitet

Gruppen har ikke gennemført en ny, selvstændig analyse. Arbejdet bygger på eksisterende analyser og på den viden og erfaring, som gruppens medlemmer besidder.

In recent years, the use of remote operation has been proposed as a bridge towards driverless mobility by providing human assistance remotely when an automated driving system finds a situation that is ambiguous and requires input from a remote operator. The remote operation of road vehicles has also been proposed as a way to enable drivers to operate vehicles from safer and more comfortable locations. While commercial solutions for remote operation exist, remaining challenges are being tackled by the research community, who is continuously testing and validating the feasibility of deploying remote operation of road vehicles on public roads. These tests range from the technological scope to social aspects such as acceptability and usability that affect human performance. This survey presents a compilation of works that approach the remote operation of road vehicles. We start by describing the basic architecture of remote operation systems and classify their modes of operation depending on the level of human intervention. We use this classification to organize and present recent and relevant work on the field from industry and academia. Finally, we identify the challenges in the deployment of remote operation systems in the technological, regulatory, and commercial scopes.

In an attempt to increse the freight transport capacity in Sweden, introduction of longer and heavier trains is investigated. To aid this investigation, a freight train simulator was designed and constructed. Here, the implemented freight train dynamics model is described, which includes slip control, a modular wagon model structrue and pneumatic brake system. Further, stable real-time performance of the implemented dynamics model is discussed.

Reliable forecasting models are needed to achieve the climate related goals in the face of increasing transport demand. Such models can predict the long-term behavioural response to policy interventions, including infrastructure investments, and thus provide valuable pre-dictions for decision makers. Contemporary forecasting models are mainly based on national travel surveys. Unfortunately, the response rates of such surveys have steadily declined, implying that the respondents become less representative of the whole population. A particular weakness is that it is likely that respondents with a high valuation of time are less willing to respond to surveys (because they have less time available for such), and therefore there is a high chance that they are underrepresented among the respondents. The valuation of time plays an important role for the cost benefit analyses of public policies including transport investments, and there is no reliable way of controlling for this uneven sampling of time preferences. Fortunately, there is simultaneously an increase in the number of signals sent between mobile phones and network antennae, and research has now reached the point where it is possible to determine not only the travel destination but also the travel mode based on mobile phone network antennae connections. The aim of this thesis is to investigate if and how mobile phone network data can be used to estimate transportation mode choice demand models that can be used for forecasting and planning. Key challenges with using this data source in the context of mode choice models are identified and met. The identified challenges include uncertainty in the choice variable, the difficulty to distinguish car and bus trips, and the lack of information about the trip purpose. In the first paper we propose three possible model formulations and analyse how the uncertainty in the choice outcome variable would play a role in the different model formulations. We also conclude that it is indeed possible to estimate mode choice demand models based on mobile phone network data, with good results in terms of behavioural interpretability and significance. In the second paper we estimate models using a nested logit structure to account for the difficulty in separating bus and car, and a latent class model specification to meet the challenge of having an unknown trip purpose. 

In this paper we use a nested latent class logit specification to define and estimate a large-scale mode choice demand forecasting model. We estimate this model based on mobile phone network data translated to roughly 100 000 long-distance trips within Sweden, achieving convergence of the model and credible parameter estimates. We develop methods to address two problems stemming from the nature of this data: the difficulties of distinguishing bus trips from car trips (since they share the same infrastructure) and distinguishing business from private trips (since trip purpose is unknown). To address the first issue, we estimate a nested logit model with an artificial nest that accounts for the differences in utility between bus and car. To address the latter issue, we estimate a latent class model, identifying classes of trips interpreted as private and business trips. Addressing these two issues substantially improves model fit. 

In this paper we develop two methods for the use of mobile phone data to support the estimation of long-distance mode choice models. Both methods are based on logit formulations in which we define likelihood functions and use maximum likelihood estimation. Mobile phone data consists of information about a sequence of antennae that have detected each phone, so the mode choice is not actually observed. In the first trip-based method, the mode of each trip is inferred by a separate procedure, and the estimation process is then straightforward. However, since it is not always possible to determine the mode choice with certainty (although it is possible in the majority of cases), this method might give biased results. In our second antenna-based method we therefore base the likelihood function on the sequences of antennae that have detected the phones. The estimation aims at finding a parameter vector in the mode choice model that would explain the observed sequences best. The main challenge with the antenna-based method is the need for detailed resolution of the available data. In this paper we show the derivation of the two methods, that they coincide in case of certainty about the chosen mode and discuss the validity of assumptions and their advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, we apply the first trip-based method to empirical data and compare the results of two different ways of implementing it. © 2021 The Authors

Medelhastigheten på vägar i Blekinge har minskat något under perioden 996-2000. En svag tendens till minskande genomsnittliga årliga medelhastigheter föreligger på vägar med hastighetsgränserna 90 och 110 km/t i Blekinge. Den årliga förändringen är emellertid inte statistiskt skild från noll. Utvecklingen i Blekinge är ungefär densamma som i VSÖ i övrigt. Hastighetsmätningarna visar också att hastighetsnivån är generellt lägre i Blekinge än i VSÖ i övrigt. På 90-vägarna är medelhastigheten i Blekinge jämfört med VSÖ i övrigt nästan 5 km/t lägre och på 110-vägar utom motorvägar 0,5-1 km/t lägre.

Den stora hastighetsförändringen under perioden föreligger på vägsträckor där hastighetsgränsen sänkts från 110 till 90 km/t. För Blekinge innebär det sänkta hastighetsgränser på större delen av E22:an som svarar för en stor del av trafikarbetet i länet. Minskningen i Blekinge som är ca 8–9 km/t är av samma storleksordning som för 110-vägar med sänkt hastighetsgräns till 90 km/t i VSÖ i övrigt.

This study investigates whether or not the scale bias found in contingent valuation (CVM) studies on mortality risk reductions is a result of cognitive constraints among respondents. Scale bias refers to insensitivity and non near-proportionality of the respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) to the size of the risk reduction. Two hundred Swedish students participated in an experiment where their cognitive ability was tested before they took part in a CVM-study where they were asked about their WTP to reduce bus-mortality risk. The results imply that WTP answers from respondents with a higher cognitive ability are less flawed by scale bias.

In order to mitigate negative effects from traffic it has been decided that infrastructure charges in the European Union (EU) should be based on short run marginal costs. The Swedish Parliament has legislated that operators in the Swedish railway infrastructure must pay charges based on short run marginal social costs in order to mitigate externalities in railway infrastructure. Internalization of the social cost of noise is of particular interest, since it is the only environmental problem perceived as more troublesome today than in the early 1990s. Inclusion of a noise component in rail infrastructure charges raises two issues: (i) the monetary evaluation of noise abatement, since noise is a non-market good, and (ii) the estimation of the effect on the noise level that one extra train will create. Regarding the latter, we are interested in the marginal noise, since infrastructure charges based on the short-run marginal cost principle should be based on the effect from the marginal train, not the noise level itself. Using already existing knowledge, this study shows that it is possible to implement a noise component in the rail infrastructure charges. The values that are used today to estimate the social cost of noise exposure in cost benefit analysis can also be used to calculate the marginal cost. We recommend, however, that further research be carried out in order to get more robust estimates based on railway traffic. We also show that the existing noise estimation models can easily be modified to estimate the marginal noise. Noise infrastructure charges give the operators incentives to reduce their noise emissions. We believe that this kind of charge can be used to reduce overall emission levels to an optimal social level, but that it is important for the charge to be based on monetary estimates for rail-traffic and not road-traffic.

I samarbete med Hövding har en studie genomförts för att belysa hur olika aspekter bidrar till händelser där cykelhjälmen löser ut. Hjälmen registrerar kontinuerligt accelerationer och när en hjälm löser ut registreras denna information hos företaget. Företaget skickar då ut en inbjudan till cyklisten om att besvara en webbenkät som även inkluderar en inbjudan att medverka i en intervju. Studien bygger på data från tre olika källor –webbenkät, intervjuer och data från hjälmen – i syfte att öka förståelsen för varför en cykelolycka inträffar. Totalt var det 196 deltagare som besvarade enkäten och 50 deltagare som intervjuades. Dessutom samlades hjälmdata in från 355 cyklister, varav 264 cyklister hade varit inblandade i minst en händelse där hjälmen löst ut.

Ett av huvudresultaten är att det är en helt vanlig dag, på en vanlig resa när en erfaren cyklist, med hög utbildning, väl medveten om trafikregler och om vad som sker runt omkring, cyklar till eller från jobbet – och ”plötsligt händer det” och inte förrän då inser cyklisten hur utsatt den är. Studien visar att en komplex bild växer fram från de tre datakällor som nyttjats för att förstå varför en olycka egentligen sker. Exempelvis ökar halka risken för en händelse där Hövdingen löser ut och är det dessutom mörkt ökar risken ytterligare. Hjälmdata kunde styrka resultaten från webbenkäten och intervjuerna men också visa på att hjälmen, på de resor som slutat med att den löste ut, haft en högre aktiveringsgrad (det har skakat mer) än på resor tidigare (då hjälmen inte har löst ut). Vidare har hjälmen på resor som gjorts efter att den löst ut, visat att cyklisten cyklar med en lägre aktiveringsgrad. Det innebär att cyklisten gjort någon form av anpassning så som att cykla försiktigare (men inte långsammare). Slutligen visar resultaten på skillnader mellan cyklister på konventionella cyklar jämfört med elcyklar vad gäller inblandning i händelser där hjälmen lösts ut.

An automated transport system has the potential to improve traffic safety and flow, but also to the accessibility and comfort for users of the transport system. Realizing the positive effects with automated transport is about shaping regulatory, organizational and technical systems. Here, appropriate evaluation enables steering efforts in the desired direction. The overall aim of this study was to develop a methodological framework that could identify effects of an automated transport system, and outline methods and metrics for evaluation of these effects. We propose a tentative case-based methodology to define measures of the effects of an automated transport system that will give key stakeholders new possibilities to evaluate research and development projects and efforts connected to automation of the transport system, and thereby manage these in a human-centered direction.

Projektet Smarta urbana trafikzoner har genomfört tre demonstrationer av smarta zoner som kan bli ett kraftfullt verktyg för att bidra till tystare, säkrare och hälsosammare urbana miljöer. Den smarta zonen bygger på digitala verktyg såsom uppkopplade sensorer och geofencing. Ett geofence är ett digitalt definierat område där fordonet styrs av digitalt uppsatta regler, vilket möjliggör kontroll av hur ett fordon körs inom zonen, utan mänsklig inblandning.

In this paper, renewal costs for railway tracks are investigated using survival analysis. The purpose is to derive the effect from increased traffic volumes on rail renewal cycle lengths and to calculate associated marginal costs. A flow sample of censored data containing almost 1300 observations on the Swedish main railway network is used. We specify Weibull regression models, and estimate deterioration elasticities for total tonnage as well as for passenger and freight tonnages separately. Marginal costs are calculated as a change in present values of renewal costs from premature renewal following increased traffic volumes. The marginal cost for total tonnage is estimated to approximately SEK 0.002 per gross ton kilometre.

Denna rapport redovisar en översiktlig analys av hur klimatförändringen kan komma att påverka svensk sjö- och luftfart. Syftet är att den ska utgöra underlag för en handlingsplan för klimatanpassning. Handlingsplanen kommer att tas fram av avdelningen för sjö- och luftfart inom Transportstyrelsen.

De möjliga förändringar av klimatet som beskrivs i denna rapport är alla baserade på scenarier som ingår i underlaget för IPCC (2014) om förväntade förändringar av klimatet på global nivå, och beräkningar av SMHI för Sverige. För flertalet av de beräknade förändringarna och effekterna råder osäkerhet. För vissa är osäkerheten mycket stor och större och snabbare förändringar liksom allvarligare effekter kan inträffa. I rapporten redovisas flera möjliga effekter av klimatförändringen för svensk sjö- och luftfart. Ett exempel avseende flyget är att den förhöjda lufttemperaturen kommer att påverka flyget direkt, eftersom ökad värme minskar flygplanens lyftförmåga. Detta leder till minskad lastkapacitet och vid mycket höga temperaruter kan det leda till inställda och försenade flyg. Även om det i första hand drabbar flygplatser i varmare delar av världen kommer försenade och inställda flyg från dessa flygplatser i sin tur ge upphov till försenade och inställda flyg över hela världen. Flygplatser kommer att få minskade behov av avisning och även minskad användning av salt och kemikalier för väg- och andra markanläggningar.

För sjöfarten innebär minskad isutbredning generellt längre fraktsäsong samt minskade behov av isbrytningsåtgärder. För Östersjön kan det dock trots den minskade isutbredningen innebära att det krävs mer isbrytarinsatser på grund av att isen förändras

Risken för översvämningar orsakade av höga vattenflöden på grund av långvarig nederbörd eller kraftiga regn och stormar kommer att öka. Detta kan påverka framkomligheten för all trafik på väg och järnväg och det förekommer redan idag tillfällen med långa avstängningstider vilket kan komma att påverka framkomlighet till som från flygplatser och hamnar samt annan verksamhet som berör flyg och sjöfart. Hamnar och kustnära flygplatser kan komma att behöva anpassas för att kunna upprätthålla sina aktiviteter och verksamheter.

Ongoing urban exploitation is increasing pressure to transform urban green spaces, while there is increasing awareness that greenery provides a range of important benefits to city residents. In efforts to help resolve associated problems we have developed a framework for integrated assessments of ecosystem service (ES) benefits and values provided by urban greenery, based on the ecosystem service cascade model. The aim is to provide a method for assessing the contribution to, and valuing, multiple ES provided by urban greenery that can be readily applied in routine planning processes. The framework is unique as it recognizes that an urban greenery comprises several components and functions that can contribute to multiple ecosystem services in one or more ways via different functional traits (e.g. foliage characteristics) for which readily measured indicators have been identified. The framework consists of five steps including compilation of an inventory of indicator; application of effectivity factors to rate indicators' effectiveness; estimation of effects; estimation of benefits for each ES; estimation of the total ES value of the ecosystem. The framework was applied to assess ecosystem services provided by trees, shrubs, herbs, birds, and bees, in green areas spanning an urban gradient in Gothenburg, Sweden. Estimates of perceived values of ecosystem services were obtained from interviews with the public and workshop activities with civil servants. The framework is systematic and transparent at all stages and appears to have potential utility in the existing spatial planning processes.

In this work we propose a new cooperation strategy between connected autonomous vehicles in on-ramps merging scenarios and we implement the cut-in risk indicator (CRI) to investigate the safety effect of the proposed strategy. The new cooperation strategy considers a pair of vehicles approaching an on-ramp. The strategy then makes decisions on the target speeds/accelerations of both vehicles, possible lane changing, and a dynamic decision-making approach in order to reduce the risk during the cut-in manoeuvre. In this work, the CRI was first used to assess the risk during the merging manoeuvre. For this purpose, scenarios with penetration rates of autonomous vehicles from 20% to 100%, with step of 10%, both connected and non-connected autonomous vehicles were evaluated. As a result, on average a 35% reduction of the cut-in risk manoeuvres in connected autonomous vehicles compared to non-connected autonomous vehicles is obtained. It is shown through the analysis of probability density functions characterising the CRI distribution that the reduction is not homogeneous across all indicator values, but depends on the penetration rate and the severity of the manoeuvre.