Demand Management: : New Perspectives for the Road Transport System Based on Practices in Electricity and Telecommunications

Abstract

The transport, electricity and telecommunication systems, also known as utilities, are under pressure from disruptive technologies, climate change and even unexpected health disasters. Questions related to demand management and safeguarding the functioning of the system are an important part of handling these pressures. In terms of road transport more specifically, the practices currently in use have been unsuccessful in flattening the demand curve or shifting the demand to more sustainable and space-efficient modes of travel. Therefore, the need for new input in the transport sector regarding demand management is higher than ever before. This report is intended to provide new insights for the transport sector based on the practices and methods for managing fluctuating demand found in other sectors, which can be translated into the following research question: What can the road transport sector learn about demand management practices from the electricity and telecom sectors? The analytical framework used for data collection and analysis is based on and combines the socio-technical theory of large technical systems (LTS) with the multi-level perspective (MLP) on sustainable transition into the infrastructure lifecycle model (ILM) introduced by Bolton and Foxon (2015). The findings are divided into three sections: road transport, electricity and telecom, and a matrix summarizing the identified practices and tools in use is provided at the end of each section. The concluding section is structured into specific learnable moments/new insights, providing an overview and discussion of all three systems in parallel with the help of the ILM. These moments include real-time monitoring and interventions, activating end users to make better-informed decisions, and public-private participation in planning and development. The report concludes with suggestions for future research.

QC 20200828

Original document

The different versions of the original document can be found in:

• http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-279069