Spatial and Energy footprints of Cars in Cities: New Metrics and Illustrations for the Montreal Area

Private cars are a key component of personal mobility. They however consume a lot of space when parked or travelling and generate numerous externalities. They are among the most visible mode of transportation both due to their size, which has increased over time, and to the infrastructures on which they rely to park and move. This paper proposes new metrics to consider the space and energy consumption of cars in cities. Road network data is used to evaluate the network coverage. Car trips from travel surveys combined to car fleet datasets are used to evaluate the surface (2D) and volume (3D) footprints of cars over time and across space. The energy footprint of car trips is also evaluated, namely regarding the activity and the duration of the activity they allow to reach. Results show the important transformation of the car fleet and the increasing 2D and 3D footprint they have. They also demonstrate that larger cars reduce parking capacity, increase congestion, and prevent energy savings.