• Focus Area Future of Transport and Fuel Demand Future of Transport and Fuel Demand
  • Type Methodology paper
  • Date 9 May 2019
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Abstract

This paper focuses on the methodology for estimating total freight transport activity (FTA) for three countries  — China, India and Saudi Arabia  — with the objective of building on current state-of-the-art transportation modeling in three key areas:

  • Studying the relationship between nighttime lights (NTL) and FTA allows for an estimation of full transportation datasets for countries where only a few observation points exist or where data is unavailable.
  • Establishing the foundation for future work on how to use this approach in transport flow estimation (origin-destination matrices).
  • Determining whether this approach can be used globally, given the coverage of the satellite data used.

The paper uses the KAPSARC Transport Analysis Framework (KTAF), which estimates transport activity from freely available global data sources, satellite images and NTL. It is a tool for estimating freight transport activity that can be used in models to measure the impact of an accelerated transport policy planning approach.

The methodology offers a solution to inadequate data access and allows for scenario building in policy planning for transportation. This approach allows for quick estimation of the effects of policy measures and economic changes on transportation activities at a global level. The paper also includes a detailed guide on how to replicate the methodology used in this analysis.

Authors

Hector G. Lopez-Ruiz

Hector G. Lopez-Ruiz

Former Research Fellow Hector is a former research fellow at KAPSARC. He is a transport economist with 12 years of experience in five…

Hector is a former research fellow at KAPSARC. He is a transport economist with 12 years of experience in five countries and is fluent in four languages. The focus of his work is on transport economic modeling, offering science-based solutions to aid policy making. He is experienced in building long-term sustainable transport policy scenarios and carrying out model-based policy analysis. During his career, he has modeled mobility for freight, vehicles, and analyzed policy-based carbon tax effects. He has worked for the French Energy Management Agency (ADEME); the French National Research Centre (CNRS-LAET); the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (ECCET-JRC) and the European Institute for Energy Research (KIT & EDF).

 

Nora Nezamuddin

Senior Fellow- Transportation & Infrastructure Nora is a senior fellow at KAPSARC specializing in transport economics research and energy consumption in the transport sector. Her…

Nora is a senior fellow at KAPSARC specializing in transport economics research and energy consumption in the transport sector. Her areas of interest include energy and transport economics, policy analysis, energy transitions, and sustainable transport. She holds an M.Sc. in Maritime and Air Transport Management, focusing on maritime transport economics research, from the University of Antwerp in Belgium and a B.S.B.A. in Business Administration and International Relations from The American University in Washington D.C.

Expertise

  • Energy Economics
  • Policy Analysis
  • Sustainable Transport
  • Energy Transitions
  • Energy in Transport and Freight Transport

Publications See all Nora Nezamuddin’s publications

Abdelrahman Muhsen

Director- Geographic Information Solution Abdel is a geospatial leader, certified in GIS (GISP), with over 18 years of experience in GIS and spatial data…

Abdel is a geospatial leader, certified in GIS (GISP), with over 18 years of experience in GIS and spatial data management. He has a proven track record of leading and delivering enterprise GIS projects for international corporations in North America and the Middle East.

His work focuses on spatial economic modeling to better understand and forecast the interactions between economic activities, energy demand, land use, and transportation in urban areas.

Before KAPSARC, Abdel worked for world-renowned, global companies, such as Accenture and ESRI, in North America and the Middle East. He served as a technical leader and a senior consultant, guiding clients in the energy sector on how to extract value out of geospatial data assets and GIS investments. Abdel holds an M.Sc. in geomatics engineering from the University of Calgary, Canada.

Expertise

  • GIS
  • Sustainability
  • Urban Analytics
  • Location Intelligence
  • Spatial Data Science
  • Earth Observation and Remote Sensing

Publications See all Abdelrahman Muhsen’s publications

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