On-road Air Pollution Exposure to Cyclists in an Agent-Based Simulation Framework

Abstract

Bicycle is not only a sustainable mode of transport but also health benefits of bicycling due to increased physical activities are well cited. However, in urban agglomerations, on-road air pollution exposure to cyclists/pedestrians is a matter of concern which is understudied. This study proposes an approach to calculate the on-road air pollution exposure for drivers of different vehicles in an agent-based simulation framework. In the proposed approach, the breathing rate of different drivers, penetration rate, vehicle-occupancy and background concentration are taken into consideration. The approach is applied to a real-world scenario of Patna, India where non-motorized modes are in abundance. A comparison of total inhaled mass per trip for drivers of different vehicles is made and it is found that cyclists are most exposed user group. An analysis for various background concentrations for different days of the year shows that the contribution of the background concentration has a major effect on the air pollution exposure level. The outcome is spatially analyzed to identify the locations of most affected user groups mapped to their home locations. Further, the on-road air pollution exposure of business-as-usual scenario is compared with a policy case and it is found that a dedicated bicycle track can increase the exposure per trip to cyclists by 40 %.

A paradigm shift in urban mobility: Policy insights from travel before and after COVID-19 to seize the opportunity

“…Consequently, a large number of vehicular interactions and possible conflicts are expected, which necessitates a segregated and expensive infrastructure for cycling. Travelers who are using NMT are also exposed to higher air pollution exposure ( Agarwal and Kaddoura, 2019 ). Stop&Go traffic conditions intensify the exposure (i) by increasing travel time and therefore exposed duration (ii) by polluting significantly higher.…”

“…Travelers who are using NMT are also exposed to higher air pollution exposure ( Agarwal and Kaddoura, 2019 ). Stop&Go traffic conditions intensify the exposure (i) by increasing travel time and therefore exposed duration (ii) by polluting significantly higher.…”

“…This leads to a reduction in the congestion externalities, i.e., for urban travelers, total delays for bicycle, car, and motorbike travel modes are reduced by 20.8%, 9.6%, and 14.8%, respectively. Further, the total travel time by bicycle, car, motorbike, PT and walk modes reduces by 18.5%, 8.0%, 11.9%, 28.7%, 29.3% respectively, which is not only directly contributing to saving in the equivalent value of time but also reduces the exposure to air pollution ( Agarwal and Kaddoura, 2019 ), and exposure for getting the infection. Further, due to capacity relief, about 4200 additional bicycle trips (about 2.5% of total trips) are observed.…”

Mind the price gap: How optimal emission pricing relates to the EU CO2 reduction targets

“…Since the uncertainty range for these costs is very high, the exact determination of external environmental and health costs is close to impossible. Additionally, the cost factors for local pollutants vary highly depending on the number of affected individuals or buildings eventually leading to very complex pricing schemes (see, e.g., Kickhöfer and Kern, 2015;Agarwal and Kaddoura , 2018). In such situations it can be useful to define goals on the political level, which implies setting the costs depending on the measures implemented to reach the goals.…”

Cycling in one of the most polluted cities in the world: Exposure to noise and air pollution and potential adverse health impacts in Delhi

“…Meanwhile, one must refrain from directly applying city cycling knowledge from Global North to Global South cities, to avoid unintended outcomes [71]. For example, Agarwal and Kaddoura [72] estimated that building a proposed bicycle superhighway in Patna, India would increase cyclists' exposure to air pollution, due to the anticipated congestion on the cycle track and consequent higher travel time in heavily polluted environments. Conversely, results from Bangalore, India suggest that providing more nonmotorized transport infrastructure (footpaths and cyclelanes) in the Central Business District would improve many sustainability indicators (including noise and air pollution), and would benefit in priority to low-income population groups [73].…”