Innovative Light ELEctric Vehicles for Active and Digital TravEl (ELEVATE): reducing mobility-related energy demand and carbon emissions

迄今为止，英国交通运输部门在实现能源多样化和碳减排方面落后于所有其他部门，自1990年基准年以来，交通运输部门的排放量基本没有变化。气候变化委员会对这一失败非常批评，并确定电动滑板车和自行车是需要紧急加速的解决方案的一部分。事实上，在客运和货运领域，英国在采用一系列创新轻型车辆方面落后于其他国家。例子包括电动辅助：自行车，货运自行车，推力车，滑板，三轮车，四轮车，悬浮板等。这包括一些电气辅助，以及用户的一些能量消耗。因此，我们将这些车辆归类为主动出行的轻型电动车辆（levat）。与传统的步行或骑自行车相比，它们使人们能够骑自行车、踏板车、滑冰或以其他方式更轻松、更愉快地旅行。他们的电源提供了连接各种数字技术的机会——从解锁共享车辆，到送货公司的“跟踪和追踪”系统，再到地图系统或用户的健康反馈工具——ELEVAVTE将其称为“数字”旅行。电动交通和数字技术结合的创新对这些新模式的采用起着关键作用，能源、信息技术和交通运输行业是关键参与者。这些车辆的增加对于减少与移动相关的能源需求和碳排放具有巨大的潜力，特别是当用户从汽车或货车等非主动模式切换时。该项目的目的是更好地了解这些机会——技术和商业选择和规范，它们可能吸引的地点和对象，它们可以用于哪些旅行，它们可以在多大程度上取代传统的机动车辆旅行——以及伴随它们而来的一些挑战——例如总体能源使用、安全和监管问题、数字集成、物理环境设计、电池标准化和行为惯性。在基于多种标准开发类型学和技术评估之后，实证最终用户研究将包括调查（目标是1200个响应），演示日（目标是至少300人参与）以及在2020年和2021年期间在英格兰3个城市至少60名个人进行的更长时间的试验。在使用前后，将对参与者进行定量调查和深度访谈，以了解用户感知和体验的变化，并使用GPS跟踪试验车辆和上下文数据（例如天气，坡度）进行三角测量。作为工作的一部分，我们将为每种模式开发新的安全培训资源，借鉴和调整现有的英国倡议和国际经验，并努力制定认证计划。物流行业的货运应用将通过专家访谈和案例研究进行分析。若干技术和需求情景将评估整个生命周期对健康和环境的影响。这将包括与世界卫生组织专家组合作，扩大HEAT工具（使没有影响评估专业知识的用户能够对步行或骑自行车的健康影响进行经济评估），使其包括这些类型的车辆。该项目得到了一系列伙伴的支持——包括三个地方当局、Sustrans和世界卫生组织——并将由一个咨询小组指导。我们还将通过运输系统弹射器、英国清洁增长和其他方式，与一系列行业利益相关者进行接触。考虑到该主题的快速发展和增长性质，以及缺乏关于这些创新轻型汽车对能源需求、流动性和气候变化影响的大量学术文献，我们还设想国际参与这项工作。

The UK transport sector lags behind all other sectors in its achievement of energy diversification and carbon emission reductions to date, with emissions from transport essentially unchanged since the benchmark year of 1990. The Committee on Climate Change have been very critical of this failure and identified electrically-assisted scooters and bikes as part of solutions that need to be urgently accelerated. Indeed, the UK lags behind other countries in the uptake of a range of innovative light vehicles for both passenger and freight applications. Examples include electrically-assisted: bicycles, cargo bicycles, push scooters, skateboards, trikes, quadricycles, hoverboards etc. These involve some electrical assistance, as well as some energy expenditure by the user. Hence, we class these vehicles as light electric vehicles for active travel (LEVATs). They enable people to cycle, scoot, skate or otherwise travel more easily or enjoyably than conventional walking or cycling. Their power source provides the opportunity to link to a variety of digital technologies - from unlocking shared vehicles, to 'track-and-trace' systems for delivery companies, to map systems or health feedback tools for users - what ELEVAVTE refers to as 'digital' travel. Innovation at the interface of e-mobility and digital technologies plays a key role for the uptake of these novel modes, with energy, IT and transport industries as key players. Increased uptake of these vehicles has significant potential for reducing mobility-related energy demand and carbon emissions, especially when users switch from non-active modes such as cars or vans. The aim of this project is to better understand these opportunities - the technological and business options and specifications, where and who they might appeal to, what trips they could be used for, how far they could replace conventional motor vehicle trips - and some of the challenges that accompany them - such as overall energy usage, safety and regulatory issues, digital integration, physical environment design, battery standardisation and behavioural inertia. After developing typologies and technology assessments based on multiple criteria, the empirical end user research will consist of surveys (aiming for 1,200 responses), demonstration days (aiming to engage at least 300 people) and longer trials with at least 60 private individuals in 3 cities in England throughout 2020 and 2021. Quantitative surveys and in-depth interviews will be undertaken with participants before and after usage to understand changes in user perceptions and experience, triangulated with GPS tracking of the trial vehicles and contextual data (e.g. weather, hilliness). As part of the work, we will develop new safety training resources for each mode, drawing on, and adapting, existing UK initiatives and international experience and working towards certified schemes. Freight applications in the logistics industry will be analysed through expert interviews and case studies. A number of technology and demand scenarios will assess the whole lifecycle health and environmental impacts. This will include work with the World Health Organization expert group to extend the HEAT tool (which enables users without expertise in impact assessment to conduct economic assessments of the health impacts of walking or cycling) to include these types of vehicle.This project is supported by a range of partners - including the three local authorities, Sustrans and the World Health Organization - and will be guided by an advisory panel. We will also engage with a range of industry stakeholders, through the Transport Systems Catapult, Clean Growth UK and other means. We also envisage international engagement in the work, given the rapidly evolving and growing nature of the topic, and the lack of a substantial academic literature on the implications of these innovative light vehicles for energy demand, mobility and climate change.