Every morning during a sabbatical in Rome, Italy, Ricardo Daziano watched what he described as a charmingly small electric shuttle bus glide past his apartment. It was at a time when the city was preparing to add hundreds of electric buses to its fleet, part of a broader push to modernize public transportation.
“Seeing that small shuttle near my apartment against the backdrop of a much larger transition sharpened my curiosity about the passenger perspective,” said Daziano, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Cornell and lead author of a new study examining the effect of cleaner, quieter electric buses on transit choices.
The study, published in June in Energy Economics, found that while the smoother, quieter ride of an electric was appealing to those who already rode public transportation, those advantages weren’t enough to lure drivers away from their cars and onto the bus.
Much of the existing research on electric buses centers on charging infrastructure, operating costs and emissions. To answer the question of whether electric buses affect rider experience or decision-making, Daziano and collaborators from Sapienza University of Rome surveyed 577 commuters about travel options with different combinations of cost, travel time, waiting conditions, crowding and environmental impacts. They then analyzed the data using a behavioral model that accounted for attitudes such as environmental awareness, social norms and familiarity with electric buses.
The study found that travelers value the quieter, smoother ride that electric buses provide, and commuters attach measurable value to the broader environmental costs of their travel choices. On average, respondents were willing to pay more for alternatives that reduced air pollution, climate impacts and noise.
Those advantages were especially important to commuters who already used public transportation regularly, but commuters who primarily drove were less influenced by environmental benefits, making them less likely to choose electric buses over their cars.
The findings highlight an important distinction for policymakers, Daziano said.
“Electrification and modal shift are related, but they are not the same policy outcome,” Daziano said. “Replacing diesel buses with electric buses can generate significant environmental benefits. But getting people out of private vehicles is likely to require improvements in the overall transit service, such as shorter wait times and more reliable service.”
The study also suggests that giving commuters opportunities to experience electric buses firsthand could increase public support for transit electrification by helping riders appreciate benefits that are difficult to convey otherwise.
Co-authors of the study include Siqi Feng, doctoral candidate in the Cornell Systems Engineering program, and Mirko Giagnorio and Tiziana D’Alfonso of Sapienza University of Rome.
The research was supported in part by Sapienza University of Rome and the U.S. National Science Foundation. Research activities were also undertaken in part at Cornell Tech.
Syl Kacapyr is associate director of marketing and communications for Duffield Engineering.
