Assessing the sustainability of transportation system in a developing city through estimating CO2 emissions and bio-capacity for vehicular activities

• Main Authors: Md. Abdul Fattah, Syed Riad Morshed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-06-01
• Series: Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives
• Subjects: Transport GHG emissions; Emissions Biocapacity Index (EBI); Sustainable Transport System
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198221000683

The key and fundamental aspects of long-term sustainable urban development are to ensure a sustainable transport system and mobility. The study assessed the sustainability of the transportation system through using the Emissions and Bio-capacity Index (EBI) approach for a developing city, named Khulna City Corporation which has different public transport modes. Vehicular CO2 emissions, carbon uptake land, and biocapacity of fourteen traffic nodes were estimated for identifying the responses of existing landforms to vehicular CO2 emissions. To calculate net CO2 emissions at specified traffic nodes, traffic volume, fuel-use types, and vehicle travel distance data were utilized. The bio-capacity of the land covers of the selected nodes to absorb vehicular CO2 emissions was calculated by GIS-based Remote Sensing methods. Total vehicular CO2 emissions have been calculated 30232.60 tons/year where 50.71% emits from Mahindra. Six of the fourteen nodes had very lower EBI values, corresponding to a higher level of CO2 emissions and low biocapacity which have been considered unsustainable as future traffic nodes. The use of vehicles capable of carrying fewer people, excessive trip generation, inadequate public transport options, narrow road-width, and declination of bio-productive areas are found mainly responsible for unsustainability. The recommended policies will help the urban managers and policymakers to build a sound and sustainable urban environment by controlling emissions.