Tools and Methodologies for the Analysis of Home-to-Work Shuttle Service Impacts: The ENEA “Casaccia” Case Study

Abstract

Mobility management is a regulatory framework designed to streamline systematic mobility and mitigate energy, environmental and economic impacts. In this work, we propose a flexible methodology for evaluating the sustainability of home-to-work travel, providing a comprehensive and detailed ex post cost–benefit assessment. Specifically, we analyzed the effectiveness of the shuttle service operating in the ENEA “Casaccia” Research Centre in pre-pandemic times. Initially, we conducted an online survey to collect data with the aim of characterizing the travel behavior of the staff and reconstructing the multi-modal individual mobility patterns. Over 70% of the recipients, which amounted to about 950 individuals, completed the survey. Subsequently, we studied two alternative scenarios—with and without the shuttle service—comparing their total mileage, energy consumption, and pollutant emissions and performing an economic analysis. Our findings suggest that operating the service has a significant impact on air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, with reductions of 97% for volatile organic compounds, 72% for particulate matter, and 60% for carbon dioxide. Moreover, the cost–benefit analysis reveals that both users and the community reaped benefits from the provision of the collective service. These benefits are estimated to be almost EUR 1.35 M per year.