Sustainable Transport in Riyadh: Potential Trip Coverage of the Proposed Public Transport Network

Initiative Future of Transport and Fuel Demand
Type Discussion paper
Date 13 October 2021

Alternative fuels
Carbon market
Clean technology
Climate change
Crude Oil
Diesel
Economic structural change
energy
Energy demand
Energy efficiency
Energy prices
Energy transition
Fleet Fuel Economy
Fleet GHG Emissions
Freight transport activity
Freight transport energy demand
Frieght Big data
IMO (International Maritime Organization
India
Land use - Transport interaction
Multimodal freight transport
Oil Market Policy
Oil-exporting countries
Petroleum
Regional Markets
Ride-hailing
Spatial economic model
Sustainable Mobility
Transit Oriented Development
Transport policy design
Uberization of freight
Urban energy model
Vehicle Electrification

Abstract

The transport sector has always had high energy demand and is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change. To improve energy efficiency and reduce GHG emissions, Riyadh is introducing an integrated public transport system. Per capita energy consumption is much lower for public transport than for private vehicles, such as cars and taxis. This study investigates the potential impact of Riyadh’s proposed public transport system on car and taxi trips.

Authors

Abu Toasin Oakil

Senior Research Associate Toasin is a senior research associate in KAPSARC’s Transport and Urban Infrastructures program. He is currently focused on the urban…

Toasin is a senior research associate in KAPSARC’s Transport and Urban Infrastructures program. He is currently focused on the urban transformation of Riyadh, and Saudi Arabia more generally. He is working toward developing different decision tools to understand the impact of transit oriented development (TOD) on the energy market, and to evaluate and assess urban policies that relate to sutainable transport and energy consumption. Toasin has worked as a scientific researcher at universities and in public organisations, and as a consultant in the private sector. He holds a Ph.D. in transportation planning from Utrecht University, an M.Sc. in urban planning from the London School of Economics, and a master’s and bachelor’s of urban planning from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. While at university, he received several accolades for his work, including the 2014 Ph.D. Dissertation Award in Transportation Geography from the American Association of Geographers (AAG) and the Prime Minister’s Gold Medal for his academic achievements.

Abdelrahman Muhsen

Senior Fellow 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