The use of green modes of transportation has been increasingly under the spotlight in a great part of the world, especially in those countries where urban pollution, traffic, the increasing population of big cities, and the necessity for these people to move come to clash together to create a series of issues and challenges, that are both on the environmental and on the economic level.
But to outline the most environmentally friendly means of transportation, though necessary, is no simple endeavor since there are many variables that must be taken into account.
The emissions of a vehicle are just one. Others involve the production process, the maintenance, the applicability of a certain mode into a certain context, the power source, etc.
So, what are the most environmentally friendly modes of transportation then? The easy answer is all those that have a low score on all the variables that we must take into account, like emissions, production and disposal impact, fuel, and sustainability for the human passenger or user, i.e., EV, EB, buses, bicycles, and trains.
But let’s see the main ones of these variables in more detail.
Environmentally friendly, an elaborate concept
The phrase environmentally friendly can be misinterpreted nowadays, as it often appears to be used to refer to the issue of emissions, at least when it’s discussed in transportation.
Although the control of emissions in our urban environments is of paramount importance for our health, and although in the USA for example transportation appears to be the single greatest source of emissions, according to the EPA (29% of the total), air pollution can not be regarded as the only source of concern.
Producing, maintaining, and eventually correctly dismantling or disposing of the vehicles we use comes at a far greater cost from an environmental perspective.
In particular, we need to consider at least the following aspects:
- material extraction and production
- transportation to the assembly facility
- powering of the vehicle
- infrastructures
- maintenance
- dismantling and disposal
Material extraction and production
Metals must be mined and processed, while plastic shaped and minerals for the batteries must be extracted. All these processes have their own environmental footprint, which implies pollution of the soil, of the air, and of water sources in the places where all of this happens.
And in some cases, there is also what is normally called soil consumption, by which the soil gets used in industrial processes that, in one way or another make it impossible to use in the future or leave it in such a state that it would need decades if not centuries to go back to its pristine one.
Transportation to the assembly facility
Raw materials are very seldom processed in the place they’re extracted. They are usually transformed just about enough to eliminate waste and to make them transportable to another destination: a production plant.
Well, it goes without saying that transportation pollutes. And it pollutes both directly with the emissions of the vehicles that are used for it and indirectly with the use of said vehicles and the infrastructures necessary for transportation, which will eventually have their own impact on the environment.
Powering of the vehicle
Some vehicles are fuelled by electricity, some by products coming from oil refinements, like diesel or petrol. Some others might be powered by biofuel, which is relatively new.
It would appear that electricity is by far the best solution since there is no combustion. Therefore, there should be no emissions. The thing is much more complicated than this since how electricity is produced matters a lot. In some cases, it is produced by burning coal, which is obviously not a good option.
Infrastructures
After production, vehicles need infrastructures to be sold, circulated, tank up, and parked. And there must also be facilities that provide the occasional and necessary care and maintenance. Finally, they need deposits and plants that dismantle them and, if possible, reuse the materials or dispose of those that can not be reused.
All this translates into more soil consumption, more construction, and more waste, in other words, further impacting the environment.
Maintenance
Vehicle maintenance is similar to a production process. It implies that the consumption of materials and the production of waste might not be harmless. Electric vehicles tend to be low maintenance, but they still need tires that, apart from being a great source of microplastics in the environment during their lifetime, become a waste problem to manage once they’re of no use as tires anymore.
Another source of pollution in the maintenance process is lubricants, often the byproducts of oil refinement and, therefore, highly polluting.
Dismantling and disposal
These two processes need plants and power to be carried out, which have their own environmental impact.
However, the greatest problem is, in this respect, the production of waste and polluting materials that should be destroyed and are highly polluting if abandoned in the environment.
It appears quite clear now, after this brief list of considerations, that establishing which is the most environmentally friendly mode of transportation is not easy and probably not possible.
However, there are also other aspects that need to be taken into account. They have no direct impact on the environment but do have large implications for the sustainability of policies that intend to carry out the necessary changes to improve our lives.
We are talking about distances and individual freedom.
We can’t, for example, prevent people from freely moving nor oblige them to use an unreasonable solution when they do so. The right to free movement is one of the fundamental rights of human beings.
For example, if we are to close a certain urban area and prohibit any private vehicle in it, we must provide solutions for those who live and work in that area, and these solutions can not imply an objective worsening of the living and moving conditions of the people involved.
Why is this important?
Because it provides the necessary social sustainability, which could be undermined by authoritarian and irrational solutions, such as forbidding the use of a private car and obliging people to an increased commuting time, for instance.
So, ideally, an environmentally friendly solution will consider all of the above. But let’s see why the environment is important.
Why are environmentally friendly modes of transportation important?
Pollution is a greater problem than many tend to think. Again, when we use the word pollution, we try to keep a sort of 360-degree view in mind. Obviously, in an urban environment, air pollution is the main concern.
According to a report by UNICEF, air pollution could be blamed for 8.1 million deaths in 2021. This made it the second cause of mortality in the world after high blood pressure. It means that the air in our cities kills us more than tobacco.
It is a global health concern, if not an emergency. And the situation is only going to get worse if left unchecked since the urban population of the world is now at 4 billion (more than half), but it is projected to become two-thirds of the total by 2050.
For this reason, transportation modes that are environmentally friendly should be among the priorities of policymakers.
But it’s not only a matter of life and death.
Unhealthy environments with inefficient and polluting transportation modes affect also other aspects of human health. As a secondary collateral effect, people can develop psychological problems that have a ripple effect on the economy. We’re talking about a general stress condition that, in turn, can affect people’s quality of life.
Sick people work in a less efficient way, consume fewer products for shorter periods of time (apart from pharmaceutical and other health-enhancing products), and cost more to the healthcare system of the country or area in which they live.
As it turns out, the environment is also important for the economy at a certain level.
However, there is more than one challenge to the adoption of environmentally friendly modes of transportation.
What are the problems with their adoptions, costs, and infrastructure?
The main problem with the adoption of new ways to move ourselves is a double-headed problem that can be defined by the words resistance and consensus.
The resistance we refer to is both psychological and related to the economic powers and interests that thrived in the old ways.
People are used to their lives, and it takes time to implement changes. Let’s take the example of a low-income family. It would be unreasonable to oblige them to buy a new, more efficient car just because the one they have does not comply with the new environmental standards.
In this respect, many worry that the European Green Deal will be infeasible since it imposes a drastic change, if not on consumers, on producers, who themselves might need a longer adaptation period.
It is then presumably also the case that those portions of the economic structure of our societies that thrived on oil-fuelled private cars and that have a considerable amount of influence if not real power, will do their best to lobby against such changes, both in their own country and in concert with other similar entities for a greater effect globally.
However, this is a slippery slope that borders on conspiracy theories, and this is definitely not the scope of this article.
Another obstacle is consensus, as we said. It is not clear how the world has reached any point regarding how to proceed. To be totally open, there are still forces and political parties that push as far as to doubt the existence of an environmental crisis.
The lack of consensus on the modalities is obviously postponing a common solution, and countries and cities worldwide are going their separate ways. This is, in and of itself, a problem and an opportunity since it delays solutions, but it also allows for the experimentation of various ideas.
Then come the costs and the realization of the relevant infrastructure. Once the decision is made, it must be budgeted and carried out.
Costs can be daunting for rural areas or poor countries, which, in fact, tend to be out of the game for the moment.
But they are a problem also for rich cities and areas that have to deal with bigger problems and more expensive maintenance.
So, the adoption of more environmentally friendly means of transportation faces various structural and economic challenges that will have to be tackled.
And now, let’s take a look at the possible solutions.
Types of environmentally friendly modes of transportation
After all we have seen so far, we can fairly say that there is no ONE most environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
There are a few that can be more or less suitable according to the goal and distance.
We will rate them according to the amount of carbon dioxide they produce per mile (1,6 km ca.) as per a report of the Colorado State University.
EV or electric cars
They are an excellent solution in urban environments, provided that they are powered by renewable energy. The CO2 output per mile is 161 grams.
EB or electric bikes
E-bikes are an incredibly interesting solution since they allow for longer distances than normal bikes but do not require petrol or diesel as normal scooters, being powered by pedals when needed. Their CO2 output per mile is a staggeringly low 8 grams.
Buses
Buses pollute a lot, but they can carry a lot of people who do not use their private cars. This results in less pollution and less consumption of tires. These are very important considerations when looking at their CO2 output, which is at 100 grams per mile (still less than an EV, as you can see)
Trains
Trains here refer to both urban trains, such as underground railways and long-distance trains. It’s probably the best system for the amount of people that it can transport and the distances it can go. It has a complicated infrastructure, though.
CO2 output per mile at 88 grams.
Bicycles
You will be surprised. A normal bike has a CO2 output per mile that reaches 33 grams. The reason is the cyclist must be fed to produce enough power to operate the vehicle. And food is not that environmentally friendly after all.
Urban mobility: Situation in the world
As we said before, the population of urban areas is set to reach two-thirds of the total by 2050, which means that 7 billion people will live in a city or in neighboring areas.
The definition of urban area is not unanimous, but nonetheless, the data is impressive. At the moment, various cities are tackling the problem in different ways.
The overpopulated megalopolises of China, like Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, have invested millions in creating a state-of-the-art urban railway structure to solve the increasing problem of traffic.
In Europe, many cities are focusing on cycle paths, as the EU Urban Mobility Framework has been pushing for a broader use of bicycles in urban environments.
In the US, the local government in Miami, Florida, is pushing a zero-emission agenda for urban areas that rely on bicycles. NoMI Express (a trolley service) and Freebee are on-demand electric services that work through an app.
There are more examples of ideas and applied solutions, some innovative, some others not so much.
In general, local and central governments work on two fronts. Nudge people to use less private transportation on the one hand and to choose environmentally friendly solutions on the other.
This roughly translates to more public transport, more trains, more bicycles. As we have seen, bicycles might not be that environmentally friendly, but they do come with the serious advantage that they enhance the overall health of the public by using them and allowing them to save money.
So, what shall we do?
The world is actually moving. According to some, it is too little too late, while others stress the necessity to proceed in a certain order and gradually, both to avoid excessive expenditure of money and, above all, to allow the changes to sit well with the population.
We have seen that the phrase “environmentally friendly” implies a lot. It has, naturally, to do with the pollution itself, but not only with the emissions of the vehicles.
The impact can be on various levels, starting from the production of the vehicle and going all the way through its use and maintenance to its disposal.
But at the end of the day, the remedies will work if they are sustainable, and to be sustainable, they must also be people-friendly and adapt to the necessities and lifestyles of the persons who will eventually use them.
We need, in this respect, a revolution, for sure. But a gradual one, even if oxymoronic. That’s why, at RouteMix, we’ve developed an urban smart travel assistant app to allow you to optimize your route by comparing different travel options (metro, train, bicycle, e-scooter, Uber, Bolt, BlaBlaCar, taxis, etc.) to choose the cheapest, fast, and environmentally-friendly option, based on your needs. With the RouteMix app, we’re setting new standards for urban mobility, and it’s just the beginning.
