Passenger Transport Energy Use in Ten Swedish Cities: Understanding the Differences through a Comparative Review

Energy conservation in the passenger transport sector of cities is an important policy matter. There is a long history of transport energy conservation, dating back to the first global oil crisis in 1973–1974, the importance and significance of which is explained briefly in this paper. Detailed empi...

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Main Author: Jeffrey R. Kenworthy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/14/3719
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author Jeffrey R. Kenworthy
author_facet Jeffrey R. Kenworthy
author_sort Jeffrey R. Kenworthy
collection DOAJ
description Energy conservation in the passenger transport sector of cities is an important policy matter. There is a long history of transport energy conservation, dating back to the first global oil crisis in 1973–1974, the importance and significance of which is explained briefly in this paper. Detailed empirical data on private and public passenger transport energy use are provided for Sweden’s ten largest cities in 2015 (Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö, Linköping, Helsingborg, Uppsala, Jönköping, Örebro, Västerås and Umeå), as well as Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, which is a benchmark small city, well-known globally for its sustainability credentials, including mobility. These data on per capita energy use in private and public transport, as well as consumption rates per vehicle kilometer and passenger kilometer for every mode in each Swedish city and Freiburg, are compared with each other and with comprehensive earlier data on a large sample of US, Australian, Canadian, European and Asian cities. Swedish cities are found to have similar levels of per capita car use and energy use in private transport as those found in other European cities, but in the context of significantly lower densities. Possible reasons for the observed Swedish patterns are explored through detailed data on their land use, public and private transport infrastructure, and service and mobility characteristics. Relative to their comparatively low densities, Swedish cities are found to have healthy levels of public transport provision, relatively good public transport usage and very healthy levels of walking and cycling, all of which help to contribute to their moderate car use and energy use.
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spelling doaj.art-d26e45af6bc54f6a9b9c32cef4c39af02023-11-20T07:17:27ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732020-07-011314371910.3390/en13143719Passenger Transport Energy Use in Ten Swedish Cities: Understanding the Differences through a Comparative ReviewJeffrey R. Kenworthy0Fachbereich 1, Architektur, Bauingenieurwesen and Geomatik, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Nibelungenplatz 1, 60318 Frankfurt am Main, GermanyEnergy conservation in the passenger transport sector of cities is an important policy matter. There is a long history of transport energy conservation, dating back to the first global oil crisis in 1973–1974, the importance and significance of which is explained briefly in this paper. Detailed empirical data on private and public passenger transport energy use are provided for Sweden’s ten largest cities in 2015 (Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö, Linköping, Helsingborg, Uppsala, Jönköping, Örebro, Västerås and Umeå), as well as Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, which is a benchmark small city, well-known globally for its sustainability credentials, including mobility. These data on per capita energy use in private and public transport, as well as consumption rates per vehicle kilometer and passenger kilometer for every mode in each Swedish city and Freiburg, are compared with each other and with comprehensive earlier data on a large sample of US, Australian, Canadian, European and Asian cities. Swedish cities are found to have similar levels of per capita car use and energy use in private transport as those found in other European cities, but in the context of significantly lower densities. Possible reasons for the observed Swedish patterns are explored through detailed data on their land use, public and private transport infrastructure, and service and mobility characteristics. Relative to their comparatively low densities, Swedish cities are found to have healthy levels of public transport provision, relatively good public transport usage and very healthy levels of walking and cycling, all of which help to contribute to their moderate car use and energy use.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/14/3719Swedish citiespassenger transport energy useurban formtransport infrastructuremobility patternspublic transport
spellingShingle Jeffrey R. Kenworthy
Passenger Transport Energy Use in Ten Swedish Cities: Understanding the Differences through a Comparative Review
Energies
Swedish cities
passenger transport energy use
urban form
transport infrastructure
mobility patterns
public transport
title Passenger Transport Energy Use in Ten Swedish Cities: Understanding the Differences through a Comparative Review
title_full Passenger Transport Energy Use in Ten Swedish Cities: Understanding the Differences through a Comparative Review
title_fullStr Passenger Transport Energy Use in Ten Swedish Cities: Understanding the Differences through a Comparative Review
title_full_unstemmed Passenger Transport Energy Use in Ten Swedish Cities: Understanding the Differences through a Comparative Review
title_short Passenger Transport Energy Use in Ten Swedish Cities: Understanding the Differences through a Comparative Review
title_sort passenger transport energy use in ten swedish cities understanding the differences through a comparative review
topic Swedish cities
passenger transport energy use
urban form
transport infrastructure
mobility patterns
public transport
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/14/3719
work_keys_str_mv AT jeffreyrkenworthy passengertransportenergyuseintenswedishcitiesunderstandingthedifferencesthroughacomparativereview