Abstract
The development of urban public transportation (UPT) is an important component of sustainable production and consumption. This paper constructs an optimal UPT structure model based on multi-objective constraints including traffic supply and demand, external environment, and travel experience. Taking 12 Chinese cities as samples, this study calculates the optimal proportion of UPT travel under existing urban traffic conditions. It analyzes the public participation gap between the optimal and actual values of the share of UPT and based on this to explore how changes in the scale of UPT would impact carbon emission reductions. The findings show that the gap between the optimal and actual public participation in UPT in China is above 24 % and that insufficient public participation is a commonly encountered obstacle to the UPT development. Scenario analysis reveals that expanding the scale of UPT promoted a reduction in carbon emissions, but the effect generally exhibited an “S"- shaped trend, with an initial increase that eventually plateaued. Moreover, the optimal scale expansion for reducing carbon emissions is concentrated between 10 % and 20 %. A city-by-city analysis showed that cities with large gaps in public participation had an optimal scale expansion of 20 % compared with their original size. Cities with medium gaps in public participation required an expansion of 10 %–15 %, while those with small gaps required an expansion of 5 %–10 %. These scale adjustments yielded the greatest marginal benefits for reducing carbon emissions. The methodology employed in this paper is characterized by its comprehensiveness and broad applicability, taking into account the current state of supply and demand for UPT in different cities. It provides a practical foundation for the differentiated formulation of UPT development strategies tailored to various cities.
Zhang, L.; Liang, W.; Li, S.; Chen, X.; Song, M. 2025. Impact of urban public transportation expansion on carbon emission reduction: Addressing public participation gaps. Journal of cleaner production : Elsevier. ISSN 0959-6526. eISSN 0959-6526. 505, 145513, p. 1–11. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.145513. [Scopus; Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science)].