A Multimodal Transport Model to Evaluate Transport Policies in the North of France

Abstract

We developed a passenger transport model for the North of France and used it to discuss the impacts of some policies focusing on the limitations of polluting gas emissions and congestion. The model is calibrated for the North of France and includes both urban and intercity trips. Four transport modes are considered: walking, biking, public transport and private cars. To some extent, the combination of these modes is possible. The model is calibrated to match mode shares and the dynamic of congestion along a full day. The simulations are conducted within the MATSim framework. We evaluate the impacts, on traffic flows and polluting gas emissions, of two pricing reforms: free public transport and road pricing in city center of Lille (the main metropolitan area in the study region). Free public transport yields a significant modal shift towards public transport, resulting in a reduction in the usage of private cars. The road pricing scheme we have considered results in similar impacts but with limited magnitude. Overall, a significant reduction in congestion and emissions of pollutant gases can be obtained by applying convenient pricing reforms. Since we use an agent-based model, we are able to identify the specific location of the main impacts on the network.

Environmental impacts of enlarging the market share of electric vehicles

“…The north of France connects northern Europe to Paris Metropolitan area and to southern Europe. A detailed description of this model is given in Kilani et al (2022). Several policies have been considered to alleviate congestion and reduce the emissions of polluting gases.…”

“…The idea is to consider only a proportion of the population, uniformly drawn from the initial population, and scale down the network capacity, so that traffic congestion and public transport flows remain consistent. Several sampling levels, ranging from less than 1-50%, were used in the simulations (see Kilani et al 2022). With a very small population, the simulations can be run quickly but it does not produce very representative outputs.…”

“…Our objective is to evaluate the environmental impacts and energy consumption when the market share of the electric cars increases. Our analysis is based on a multimodal transport simulation framework described in Kilani et al (2022). The model includes four modes "walk" "bike", "car" and "public transport" and covers the north of France.…”

“…Section 2 reviews others studies that have considered electric cars and the optimal deployment of charging stations. Section 3 briefly describes the multimodal transport model we use as a framework (see Kilani et al 2022) and describes how electric vehicles are taken into account in our transport model. The results of our analysis are reported in Sect.…”

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We extend a multimodal transport model to simulate an increase of the market share of electric vehicles. The model, which is described in detail in Kilani et al (Sustainability 14(3):1535, 2022, covers the north of France and includes both urban and intercity trips. It is a multi-agents simulation based on the MATsim framework and calibrated on observed traffic flows.

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