摘要: |
Many types of transportation systems, for example, public transit and commercial freight hauling and package delivery, may be categorized as being fleet operations. The environmental impacts of fleet operations such as these are affected by factors including the initial choice and selection of vehicles (types) comprising the fleet, vehicle age and maintenance, and the modal conditions under which the vehicles are operated including. And, the environmental impacts are even more significant when examined on a life-cycle basis. When examined on this basis, it is clear that cleaner fuels, alone, do not provide an environmental panacea or eliminate all of the environmental impacts of transportation. Moreover, many of the life-cycle impacts can be directly or indirectly attributed to vehicle operation. Controllable life-cycle impacts may also be affected by vehicle routing and scheduling decisions, in particular, in the case of a heterogeneous fleet. And, these other controllable environmental impacts of transportation systems and operation must also be considered if the overall impacts are truly to be minimized. |