From Car to Pool: Micro-Traffic Simulations on the Effects of Micro-Public Transport and Ride-Sharing on Commuter Traffic

Daily commuting in many peri-urban regions is dominated by private cars, causing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. This research quantifies how a mixed public transport concept combining connector buses and organised ride-sharing can reduce road-traffic CO2 emissions in a regional rail corridor in southern Upper Austria. Commuter behavioural parameters and mobility patterns are informed by survey data collected from residents of the target region. Using land-use based sampling and k-means clustering, synthetic commuter populations and pickup points are generated, and ten configurations are simulated in four scenarios: car-only baseline, bus, ride-sharing, and combined mixed public transport (Mix-PT) using the microscopic traffic simulator TraffSim. Emissions are computed from the simulated vehicle trajectories with a physics-based fuel consumption model. Results show operational CO2 reductions of about 13% with buses, 18% with ride-sharing, and 28% in the Mix-PT scenario, relative to the baseline; all differences between the scenarios are statistically significant across the ten configurations. Car and ride-sharing trips remain time-competitive, while connector bus users accept longer journeys. Under the modelled acceptance constraints, combining feeder buses and ride-sharing can, therefore, contribute to lower commuting emissions in peri-urban rail corridors, although the size of the effect depends on the assumed behavioural parameters and service design and should be confirmed in field trials.