Transport Emissions Modeling using Google Maps: An alternative approach for vehicle flow analysis

Continuous measurements of transport emissions are considered key issues for air pollution management in the transportation sector. In some instances, researchers may come across difficulties in doing transport emissions modeling such as overcomplexities and laborious methodologies. In this regard, the authors are introducing a novel method of doing a transport emissions modeling by utilizing Google Maps data. By getting the average travel time of a road segment and the corresponding length, the average speed can be obtained. This speed will be used to identify the flow of vehicles in terms of Passenger Car Unit (PCU) through a speed-flow curve on the basis of a Roadside Frictions Index (RSFI). PCU percentages are derived from the actual counting of vehicles using the street view features of Google Maps. Once the PCU count and the PCU percentages are established, the actual number of vehicle flow per type can now be determined. Consequently, emissions loads are calculated by multiplying the vehicle flow and road length to emissions factors derived from reliable sources.