Can Disruptive Technologies, On-Demand Mobility, and Biofuels Improve Transportation Environmental Sustainability? A Review of Recent Research

As new transportation technologies, travel behaviors, and fuels emerge, there is opportunity to proactively assess environmental impacts to ensure that reductions occur and unintended tradeoffs are avoided. This article summarizes the goals, scope, and findings of a special issue on transportation sustainability. The special issue provides an overview of recent research and policies on autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, on-demand mobility (including carsharing), intelligent transportation systems, and biofuels and their expected environmental effects. The reviews show that there are efforts underway to understand the environmental impacts of changes in transportation systems that may lead to technology designs and deployment strategies for environmental sustainability.