Work

Optimal planning of an urban ferry service operated with zero emission technology

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: While passenger-only ferries can be an effective instrument in mitigating road congestion in urban areas, they are among the most polluting modes of transportation. This paper studies technical and economic feasibilities of a battery-powered high-speed ferry service in Oslo, Norway. A social ferry planner problem that minimizes ferry operator and passenger costs and external costs of road transport subject to strategic (fleet selection and infrastructure location), tactical (service frequency) and operational (vessel speed) decisions is proposed. While the results show that zero emission technologies can pass the cost-benefit test for a short-range service, competitiveness hinges on energy costs and capacities and on the performance of the existing service. Counterfactual scenarios show substantial cost reductions from altering the current ferry route. Anticipated increase in external costs of road transport from closing the ferry service is also much less than the system costs of maintaining the urban ferry connection.

Source: Maritime Transport Research

DOI: 10.1016/j.martra.2023.100100

Authors: Kenneth Løvold Rødseth, Kjetil Fagerholt, Stef Proost

Institutions: Institute of Transport Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, KU Leuven

Language: English

Topic: Transportation Planning and Optimization

Subfield: Transportation

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Industry, innovation and infrastructure, Sustainable cities and communities, Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,500