Transport Energy Use and Greenhouse Gases in Urban Passenger Transport Systems: A Study of 84 Global Cities

Abstract

Cities everywhere are concerned about growing automobile dependence. Two of the factors that are increasingly important to consider are the energy and greenhouse implications of automobile dependence in cities. This paper provides a global view of these issues. It examines not only the patterns of automobile dependence, transport energy use and CO2 emissions across a global sample of some 84 cities in nearly all regions of the world, but also some underlying reasons for these patterns. The discussion points to a series of policy implications, which are briefly discussed. The paper commences with a brief description of the methodology, data sources and cities covered by the study. Results are then presented for a wide range of transport and urban form characteristics of cities, summarised by different regions in the world and divided according to high and low income areas. Data covered include urban form and wealth, vehicle ownership, private and public transport infrastructure and usage, public transport service and modal split. A comprehensive set of transport energy use and efficiency data are presented for private and public transport along with the resulting CO2 emissions. All relevant data are set out in tables on the basis of averages for eleven world regions. Some overall conclusions and perspectives are drawn.