Analysis of in-vehicle air quality and load factor as environmental and social dimensions of sustainable urban mobility: A case study from Kathmandu valley, Nepal
-
Pooja Bhusal
,
Suman Man Shrestha
,
Narayan Babu Dhital
,
Gauri Shankar Bhandari
,
Bhupendra Das
,
Rishav Pandit
Abstract
Introduction: Assessing in-vehicle air pollution and load factor is crucial in developing countries like Nepal within the environmental and social aspects of sustainable urban mobility.
Materials and methods: In this study in-vehicle air quality of public vehicles in Kathmandu valley was monitored for three road sections based on vehicle density i.e. Ring Road Section (RRS), Urban Commercial Route 1 (UCR1), and Urban Commercial Route 2 (UCR2) using Air Visual Pro N1 Model for which validationand was done with reference Particulate Matter (PM) values obtained from the GRIMM EDM 180 analyzer. The quantitative count method was used to sample passenger load. Particulate Matter (PM1 , PM2.5, PM10) were monitored along with indoor-outdoor ratio for PM2.5 to know the relationship between indoor and outdoor air quality.
Results: A higher positive correlation between PM2.5 and PM10 showed common sources of pollution such as road dust, and vehicle exhaust and a ratio study between them showed the dominance of coarser particles in both ambient and in-vehicle environments. RRS recorded the highest PM10 and PM2.5 exposure, possibly due to the inadequate road conditions from Kalanki to Gongabu and loose sediment deposition from roadside activities. A significant difference is observed for peak and non-peak hours due to the difference in mobility of vehicles on two different hours. Higher load factors on UCR1 and UCR2 showed the higher transportation demand on urban commercial sections for both weekdays and weekends in comparison to RRS.
Conclusion: Both in-vehicle air quality and load factor for sections under study were not satisfactory and cannot be counted under sustainable urban mobility practices.
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34. Abi-Esber L, El-Fadel M. Indoor to outdoor air quality associations with self-pollution implications inside passenger car cabins. Atmos Environ. 2013;81:450-63.
35. Bathmanabhan S, Saragur Madanayak SN. Analysis and interpretation of particulate matter - PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 emissions from the heterogeneous traffic near an urban roadway. Atmos Pollut Res [Internet]. 2010;1(3):184–94. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.5094/APR.2010.024
36. Tian P, Zhang L, Ma J, Tang K, Xu L, Wang Y, et al. Radiative absorption enhancement of dust mixed with anthropogenic pollution over East Asia. Atmos Chem Phys. 2018;18(11):7815-25.
37. Wang YQ, Zhang XY, Sun JY, Zhang XC, Che HZ, Li Y. Spatial and temporal variations of the concentrations of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 in China. Atmos Chem Phys. 2015;15(23):13585–98.
38. Zhou X, Cao Z, Ma Y, Wang L, Wu R, Wang W. Concentrations, correlations and chemical species of PM2. 5/PM10 based on published data in China: potential implications for the revised particulate standard. Chemosphere. 2016;144:518–26.
39. Li Z, Hensher DA. Crowding in public transport: a review of objective and subjective measures. J Public Transp. 2013;16(2):107–34.
40. Manandhar RB. Passengers’ Satisfaction towards Service Quality with Public Transportation in Kathmandu Valley. Int Res J MMC. 2023;4(1):1-8.
41. Gan A, Jung R, Liu K, Li X, Sandoval D. Vehicle occupancy data collection methods. 2005.
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2. Tartakovsky L, Baibikov V, Czerwinski J, Gutman M, Kasper M, Popescu D, et al. In-vehicle particle air pollution and its mitigation. Atmos Environ. 2013;64:320–8.
3. Saud B, Paudel G. The Threat of Ambient Air Pollution in Kathmandu, Nepal. J Environ Public Health. 2018 Jul 10;2018.
4. Das B, Bhave P V., Puppala SP, Byanju RM. A Global Perspective of Vehicular Emission Control Policy and Practices: an Interface With Kathmandu Valley Case, Nepal. J Inst Sci Technol. 2018;23(1):76-80.
5. Kloog I, Chudnovsky AA, Just AC, Nordio F, Koutrakis P, Coull BA, et al. A new hybrid spatio-temporal model for estimating daily multi-year PM2.5 concentrations across northeastern USA using high resolution aerosol optical depth data. Atmos Environ. 2014;95:581-90.
6. Rodopoulou S, Samoli E, Chalbot M-CG, Kavouras IG. Air pollution and cardiovascular and respiratory emergency visits in Central Arkansas: A time-series analysis. Sci Total Environ. 2015;536:872-9.
7. Aithal SS, Sachdeva I, Kurmi OP. Air quality and respiratory health in children. Breathe. 2023;19(2).
8. Hildebrandt ML, Pokhrel S. Climate and air quality: a case study of PM10 pollution in Kathmandu, Nepal. InPapers and proceedings of applied geography conferences 2002 (Vol. 25, pp. 27-35). [np]; 1998. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266339577
9. Kathmandu N. Central bureau of statistics. Population (in million). 2014 Aug;33:34-0.
10. Do TM. Public Transport code of conduct, 2011. Kathmandu, Nepal.
11. JICA S. Data Collection Survey on Traffic Improvement in Kathmandu Valley. In2nd Workshop. [Presentation Slides] 2012.
12. Teri V, Libor C, Jiri N, Helena P, Blanka K, Irina N, et al. An investigation of local and regional sources of fine particulate matter in Ostrava, the Czech Republic. Atmos Pollut Res. 2015;6(3):454–63.
13. Habitat UN. State of the world’s cities 2012/2013: Prosperity of cities. Routledge; 2013 Oct 23.
14. Mahapatra PS, Puppala SP, Adhikary B, Shrestha KL, Dawadi DP, Paudel SP, et al. Air quality trends of the Kathmandu Valley: A satellite, observation and modeling perspective. Atmospheric environment. 2019 Mar 15;201:334-47.
15. Pandey S. Poor air quality in Kathmandu: Causes, consequences and solutions explained. 2023; Available from: https://english.onlinekhabar.com/poor-air-quality-in-kathmandu-explain.html
16. Jiao W, Frey H. Method for measuring the ratio of in-vehicle to near-vehicle exposure concentrations of airborne fine particles. Transp Res Rec. 2013;(2341):34–42.
17. MoEST. National indoor air quality standards and implementation guideline. 2009;
18. Mulligan AM, Nicholson A. Uncertainty in traffic flow estimation using the moving-observer method. InIPENZ Transportation Group Conference Papers 2002.
19. Bhattarai B. Study on efficiency and satisfaction level of public transportation within Kathmandu inner ring road. Pulchowk Campus; 2017.
20. Li Z, Hensher DA. Crowding in public transport: A review of objective and subjective measures. J Public Transp. 2013;16(2):107–34.
21. Li Z, Hensher DA. Performance contributors of bus rapid transit systems within the ITDP BRT standard: An ordered choice approach. 2019.
22. Levinson H, Zimmerman S, Clinger J, Rutherford S, Smith RL, Cracknell J, et al. Bus rapid transit. Transit Coop Res Progr Rep. 2003;90.
23. Majumder AK, Islam KMN, Bajracharya RM, Carter WS. Assessment of occupational and ambient air quality of traffic police personnel of the Kathmandu valley, Nepal; in view of atmospheric particulate matter concentrations (PM10). Atmos Pollut Res [Internet]. 2012;3(1):132–42. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.5094/APR.2012.013
24. Dhital NB, Hung WT, Byanju RM. Air pollution inside public transport vehicles of Kathmandu Valley. Nepal J Environ Sci. 2014;2:35–41.
25. Malla S. Assessment of mobility and its impact on energy use and air pollution in Nepal. Energy. 2014;69:485–96.
26. Organization WH. WHO air quality guidelines global update 2005: Report on a Working Group Meeting, Bonn, Germany, 18–20 October 2005. World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe; 2005.
27. Aryal RK, Lee BK, Karki R, Gurung A, Kandasamy J, Pathak BK, et al. Seasonal PM10 dynamics in Kathmandu Valley. Atmos Environ [Internet]. 2008;42(37):8623–33. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.08.016
28. Alameddine I, Abi Esber L, Bou Zeid E, Hatzopoulou M, El-Fadel M. Operational and environmental determinants of in-vehicle CO and PM2.5 exposure. Sci Total Environ [Internet]. 2016;551:42–50. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.030
29. Nazaroff WW. Indoor Partical Dynamics. Indoor Air [Internet]. 2004;14(7):175–83. Available from: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7sq4x34d#author
30. Jones NC, Thornton CA, Mark D, Harrison RM. Indoor/outdoor relationships of particulate matter in domestic homes with roadside, urban and rural locations. Atmos Environ. 2000;34(16):2603-12.
31. Chan MY. Commuters’ exposure to carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in air-conditioned buses in Hong Kong. Indoor Built Environ. 2005;14(5):397-403.
32. Zhu Y, Hinds WC, Krudysz M, Kuhn T, Froines J, Sioutas C. Penetration of freeway ultrafine particles into indoor environments. J Aerosol Sci. 2005;36(3):303-22.
33. Islam MR, Li T, Mahata K, Khanal N, Werden B, Giordano MR, et al. Wintertime Air Quality across the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: Concentration, Composition, and Sources of Fine and Coarse Particulate Matter. ACS earth Sp Chem. 2022;6(12):2955-71.
34. Abi-Esber L, El-Fadel M. Indoor to outdoor air quality associations with self-pollution implications inside passenger car cabins. Atmos Environ. 2013;81:450-63.
35. Bathmanabhan S, Saragur Madanayak SN. Analysis and interpretation of particulate matter - PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 emissions from the heterogeneous traffic near an urban roadway. Atmos Pollut Res [Internet]. 2010;1(3):184–94. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.5094/APR.2010.024
36. Tian P, Zhang L, Ma J, Tang K, Xu L, Wang Y, et al. Radiative absorption enhancement of dust mixed with anthropogenic pollution over East Asia. Atmos Chem Phys. 2018;18(11):7815-25.
37. Wang YQ, Zhang XY, Sun JY, Zhang XC, Che HZ, Li Y. Spatial and temporal variations of the concentrations of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 in China. Atmos Chem Phys. 2015;15(23):13585–98.
38. Zhou X, Cao Z, Ma Y, Wang L, Wu R, Wang W. Concentrations, correlations and chemical species of PM2. 5/PM10 based on published data in China: potential implications for the revised particulate standard. Chemosphere. 2016;144:518–26.
39. Li Z, Hensher DA. Crowding in public transport: a review of objective and subjective measures. J Public Transp. 2013;16(2):107–34.
40. Manandhar RB. Passengers’ Satisfaction towards Service Quality with Public Transportation in Kathmandu Valley. Int Res J MMC. 2023;4(1):1-8.
41. Gan A, Jung R, Liu K, Li X, Sandoval D. Vehicle occupancy data collection methods. 2005.
42. Qin D-S, Gao C-Y. Control measures for automobile exhaust emissions in PM2.5 governance. Discret Dyn Nat Soc. 2022;2022.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 9 No 1 (2024): Winter 2024 | |
| Section | Original Research | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/japh.v9i1.15078 | |
| Keywords | ||
| In-vehicle air quality; Particulate matter (PM); Carbon dioxide (Co2 ); Sustainable urban mobility | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Bhusal P, Shrestha SM, Dhital NB, Bhandari GS, Das B, Pandit R. Analysis of in-vehicle air quality and load factor as environmental and social dimensions of sustainable urban mobility: A case study from Kathmandu valley, Nepal. JAPH. 2024;9(1):41-58.
