Shatnawi, Ibrahem

  • Primary Program Transportation & Infrastructure
  • Research Interests -

Biography

Ibrahem Shatnawi is a Senior Fellow in the transportation department at KAPSARC with more than 19 years of experience in transportation engineering. He is currently leading the development of An Integrated Transport Model for KSA: Modeling Sustainable Pathways in the Transport Sector. His research focuses on transport policies and technologies for decarbonizing road transport and integrated transport demand modeling to estimate energy demand and emissions.

Before joining KAPSARC, Ibrahem gained extensive experience across both public and private sectors. He worked with the Department of Transport in Abu Dhabi, the Road and Transport Authority in Dubai, and renowned consulting firms such as JACOBS, Michael Baker International, and Parsons Corporation. His career has spanned multiple countries, including the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

Ibrahem’s expertise includes public transportation fare strategies, transport policies, travel demand modeling, transportation economic impact studies, intelligent transportation systems, traffic operations, and microsimulation projects. He has served as a project manager for large-scale transportation studies and authored numerous technical reports.

Ibrahem holds a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, specializing in transportation, from Jordan University of Science and Technology, and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, specializing in traffic engineering, from the University of Akron, Ohio, U.S.

Publications

See all Ibrahem’s publications
  • Discussion papers
  • Methodology paper
  • Commentaries
Impact of Urban Traffic on Fuel Consumption Leveraging IoT Data: Case Study of Riyadh City

Impact of Urban Traffic on Fuel Consumption Leveraging IoT Data: Case Study of Riyadh City

This study explores the rising trend of traffic congestion in Riyadh and its impact on fuel consumption for passenger cars amid the challenges of rapid urbanization and increasing vehicle use. By utilizing real-time floating car data (FCD) collected by vehicles equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and communication systems, this study illustrates the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart city technologies in developing intelligent transportation systems and improving urban mobility management. A spatial analysis of the traffic flow dynamics in Riyadh, focusing on selected primary highways, reveals that driving on high-capacity roads tends to increase fuel consumption. We conducted an analysis at a mesoscopic level, representing traffic congestion in Riyadh on high-capacity roads. It shows that traffic congestion leads to up to a 29% increase in fuel consumption, primarily due to frequent stop-and-go driving behavior, reducing overall fuel efficiency. This study enhances our understanding of urban traffic patterns, providing policymakers with data-driven insights to help them create more sustainable road planning strategies to address the specific needs and challenges of urban mobility in cities.

19th December 2024
Driving Reductions in Emissions: Unlocking the Potential of Fuel Economy Targets in Saudi Arabia

Driving Reductions in Emissions: Unlocking the Potential of Fuel Economy Targets in Saudi Arabia

The adoption of more stringent fuel economy standards represents a pivotal pathway toward achieving net zero emissions in the transportation sector. By steadily increasing the fuel efficiency of vehicles, this approach drives a gradual but consistent decline in emissions. When coupled with the simultaneous integration of electric and alternative fuel vehicles into the market, the goal of net zero emissions becomes increasingly feasible.

1st July 2024
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Framework for Examining the Environmental Impacts of Asphalt Pavement Mixtures in Saudi Arabia

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Framework for Examining the Environmental Impacts of Asphalt Pavement Mixtures in Saudi Arabia

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is the predominant approach for evaluating the environmental impacts of asphalt pavement. A comprehensive LCA framework for assessing the environmental impacts of asphalt pavements in Saudi Arabia was defined. This model framework presents a clear approach for estimating the emissions generated from mix production in the cradle-to-gate state. Energy consumption and transport distance (i.e., the distance between raw material production facilities and asphalt plants) are two of the main factors that need to be considered in estimations of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of asphalt pavements. Several environmental impact categories, including stratospheric ozone depletion, photochemical ozone formation, acidification, eutrophication, climate change, and particulate matter formation, were identified.

12th December 2024
The Role of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Artificial Intelligence in Energy Efficiency and Emission Reduction

The Role of Intelligent Transportation Systems and Artificial Intelligence in Energy Efficiency and Emission Reduction

Despite the technological advancements in the transportation sector, the industry continues to grapple with increasing energy consumption and vehicular emissions, which intensify environmental degradation and climate change. The inefficient management of traffic flow, the underutilization of transport network interconnectivity, and the limited implementation of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven predictive models pose significant challenges to achieving energy efficiency and emission reduction.

22nd January 2024
Urban Transportation Challenges in Saudi Arabia: Micromobility as a Solution to First and Last Mile

Urban Transportation Challenges in Saudi Arabia: Micromobility as a Solution to First and Last Mile

The transportation sector plays a significant role in global carbon emissions and environmental challenges. On a worldwide scale, the aggregate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions attributed to transportation amount to approximately 14.3% of total emissions. Notably, road transport emissions made a substantial contribution, comprising 12.6% of overall transport emissions in 2019.

24th December 2023

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