Description
With high potential for automobiles to cause air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, there is concern that automobiles accessing or egressing public transportation may cause emissions similar to regular automobile use. Due to limited literature and research that evaluates and discusses environmental impacts from first and last mile portions of transit trips, there is a lack of understanding on this topic. This research aims to comprehensively evaluate the life cycle impacts of first and last mile trips on multimodal transit. A case study of transit and automobile travel in the greater Los Angeles region is evaluated by using a comprehensive life cycle assessment combined with regional household travel survey data to evaluate first-last mile trip impacts in multimodal transit focusing on automobile trips accessing or egressing transit. First and last mile automobile trips were found to increase total multimodal transit trip emissions by 2 to 12 times (most extreme cases were carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds). High amounts of coal-fired energy generation can cause electric propelled rail trips with automobile access or egress to have similar or more emissions (commonly greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide, and mono-nitrogen oxides) than competing automobile trips, however, most criteria air pollutants occur remotely. Methods to reduce first-last mile impacts depend on the characteristics of the transit systems and may include promoting first-last mile carpooling, adjusting station parking pricing and availability, and increased emphasis on walking and biking paths in areas with low access-egress trip distances.
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Details
Title
- First-last mile life cycle assessment of Los Angeles transit
Contributors
- Hoehne, Christopher G (Author)
- Chester, Mikhail V (Thesis advisor)
- Salon, Deborah (Committee member)
- Zhou, Xuesong (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2016
Subjects
- Transportation
- Sustainability
- Civil Engineering
- emissions
- first last mile
- Greenhouse gases
- life cycle assessment
- Los Angeles
- public transportation
- Urban transportation--Environmental aspects--California--Los Angeles.
- Urban transportation
- Local transit--Environmental aspects--California--Los Angeles.
- Local transit
- Trip generation--California--Los Angeles.
- Trip generation
Resource Type
Collections this item is in
Note
- thesisPartial requirement for: M.S., Arizona State University, 2016
- bibliographyIncludes bibliographical references (pages 66-70)
- Field of study: Civil engineering
Citation and reuse
Statement of Responsibility
by Christopher G. Hoehne