Assessment of the Emission of Pollutants from Public Transport Based on the Example of Diesel Buses and Trolleybuses in Gdynia and Sopot

Abstract

The present study attempts to examine the research gap in terms of comparing the environmental impact of trolleybuses and diesel buses in the conditions of a country with an unfavourable energy mix. The analysed example concerns the trolleybus transport system in Gdynia, in northern Poland, which also partially serves the neighbouring city of Sopot. In the last few years, two bus lines have been electrified with trolleybuses in the In-Motion-Charging technology, which enables operation on sections without an overhead network. Using the actual operational data, a comparative analysis of the emissivity of diesel buses and trolleybuses used on the same lines in an identical operating regime was conducted. Moreover, an attempt was made to estimate the damage costs of the emission of air pollutants for the above-mentioned means of transport. Research has shown that trolleybuses significantly help to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds and particulate matter, while increasing sulphur dioxide emissions on the served lines. They also generate lower specific emissions of carbon dioxide compared to diesel buses. However, taking into account the differences in the number of seats in these vehicles, the length of routes resulting from a need to provide access to the necessary infrastructure and the total amount of kilometres covered on a given route, they may cause higher emissions per year and per the product life cycle than diesel buses. This is related to the unfavourable structure of energy production in Poland, which is dominated by coal sources. The research results clearly show that the use of trolleybuses in public transport contributes to a reduction of the damage costs of the emission of pollutants that amount to approximately EUR (€) 30,000–60,000 per year for the analysed lines.

Influence of travel dynamics parameters on high-altitude emission characteristics of GDI light-duty vehicles

“…The installation relationship of PEMS equipment in the test vehicle is shown in Figure 1, The itinerary information of RDE experiment is shown in table 2.The test site was selected to be conducted in the urban and suburban areas of the high altitude city of Kunming, as well as on highways. The test route should ensure continuous and uninterrupted driving, with each speed interval of at least 16km, and the total test time controlled within 90 to 120min [9][10][11][12][13] . In order to ensure the consistency of test conditions and reduce test errors, test related equipment should be calibrated before and after each test.…”

The Problem of Reliability in Public Transport for the Metropolis GMZ Area-Pilots Studies

“…The recurrence of this problem has attracted the interest of researchers to find alternative solutions and more comprehensive terminology to determine the factors affecting public transportation service [6,32].…”

A Method for the Identification of Critical Interstop Sections in Terms of Introducing Electric Buses in Public Transport

“…The fundamental parameter for the introduction of electric buses is the length of the entire route, including additional sections such as from the depot to the first stop and from the last stop to the depot [26]. Other parameters related to the local landform (elevation and depression), the road network, the availability of charging infrastructure, and the weather, the level of energy required is influenced by the need to use heating and air conditioning [27].…”