Enhancing Energy Efficiency in Road Transport Systems: A Comparative Study of Australia, Hong Kong and the UK

Road transport systems are central to sustainable mobility and the energy transition because they account for a large share of final energy use and remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels. With more than 90% of transport energy still supplied by petroleum-based fuels, improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions in road networks has become a strategic priority. This review compares Australia, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom to examine how road-design standards and emerging digital technologies can improve energy performance across planning, design, operations, and maintenance. Using Australia’s Austroads Guide to Road Design, Hong Kong’s Transport Planning and Design Manual (TPDM), and the UK’s Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) as core reference frameworks, we apply a rubric-based document analysis that codes provisions by mechanism type (direct, indirect, or emergent), life-cycle stage, and energy relevance. The findings show that energy-relevant outcomes are embedded through different pathways: TPDM most strongly supports urban operational efficiency via coordinated/adaptive signal control and public-transport prioritization; DMRB emphasizes strategic-network flow stability and whole-life carbon governance through managed motorway operations and life-cycle assessment requirements; and Austroads provides context-sensitive, performance-based guidance that supports smoother operations and active travel, with implementation varying by jurisdiction. Building on these results, the paper proposes an AI-enabled benchmarking overlay that links manual provisions to comparable energy and carbon indicators to support cross-jurisdictional learning, investment prioritization, and future manual revisions toward safer, more efficient, and low-carbon road transport systems.