Optimisation of Urban Passenger Transport through the

Introduction of Environmentally Friendly Modes of Transport and

the Adoption of a European Policy to Increase the Number of Cyclists

to Improve the Environmental Situation in the Republic of

Uzbekistan

S. S. Sulaymanov

, B. I. Ismoilov

, N. B. Chetkova

and O. A. Sherstuchenko

Tashkent State Transport University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Ural State University of Railway Transport USURT, Yekaterinburg, Russia

Keywords: Atmospheric, air pollution, Atmospheric Pollution Index (API), health problems.

Abstract: The situation with air pollution in Tashkent raises concerns among experts of the World Health

Organization. According to the IQAir company report for 2020, Tashkent ranks 18th in the list of the most

polluted cities with an average annual concentration of PM2.5 particles (29.9 µg/m3) (News agency

Podrobno.uz, https://podrobno.uz). Every day more and more cars drive on the streets of cities, which emit

up to 90% of the total number of air pollutants (Газета.uz, https://www.gazeta.uz). In this article will be

considered the solution to the problem of air pollution in large cities through the improvement of public

transport systems (on the example of Tashkent).

1 INTRODUCTION

Atmospheric air pollution is one of the main

environmental health problems that affects everyone

in low, middle and high-income countries. This

article presents the values and levels of air pollution

in the Republic of Uzbekistan and in Tashkent city.

An example of a successful European policy to

reduce air pollution and ways to reduce pollution in

sectors such as urban transport is proposed.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

Emissions of pollutants into the atmospheric air in

Tashkent in 2018 amounted to 426 thousand tons.

Motor vehicles accounted for 395,000 tonnes, or

more than 90% of the emissions, the Tashkent City

Department of Ecology and Environmental

Protection said.

The level of urban air pollution is measured by

the Atmospheric Pollution Index (API). An

Atmospheric Pollution Index (API) of less than 5

points corresponds to a reduced level of pollution.

The MPA is calculated by comparing observed

concentrations of pollutants with their maximum

permissible concentrations (MPC), values above 1.0

are potentially hazardous to public health.

Over the past 10 years, all cities in Uzbekistan

have had lower levels of air pollution, the

Hydrometeorological Service Centre said. The

lowest values of 1.10-2.63 are in cities such as

Denau, Kokand, Gulistan, Samarkand and Sariasia.

Higher values of the WAC - 4.30-5.30 are observed

in Almalyk, Angren, Bukhara. In the rest of the

cities, the WAC is in the range of 3.20-3.97

(Газета.uz, www.gazeta.uz).

Uzbekistan-wide, total emissions in 2018

amounted to 2,449,000 tonnes, of which road

transport accounted for 60%, more than three times

the standards set in developed and developing

countries. And this was the message of the World

Environment Day conference on 4 June 2019

(Газета.uz, www.gazeta.uz).

The main mobile source of pollutants, in

particular nitrogen dioxide, is urban transport. More

than 2 million vehicles are registered in the country,

of which 450 thousand are registered in Tashkent.

Sulaymanov, S., Ismoilov, B., Chetkova, N. and Sherstuchenko, O.

Optimisation of Urban Passenger Transport through the Introduction of Environmentally Friendly Modes of Transport and the Adoption of a European Policy to Increase the Number of Cyclists

to Improve the Environmental Situation in the Republic of Uzbekistan.

DOI: 10.5220/0011577400003527

In Proceedings of the 1st International Scientiﬁc and Practical Conference on Transport: Logistics, Construction, Maintenance, Management (TLC2M 2022), pages 50-53

ISBN: 978-989-758-606-4

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

The city receives about 50 thousand vehicles from

other regions and countries every day.

About 75% of vehicles registered in the capital

run on gasoline and diesel engines, and 25% run on

gas. Diesel-powered vehicles emit 208 kg of

pollutants per tonne of fuel, while gas-powered

vehicles emit 3 times less, Tashgorekologiya said.

Motor vehicles emit 200 pollutants into the air,

including carbon monoxide, aldehydes, soot and

nitrogen oxides. When these substances accumulate

in the ground layer (the breathing zone of people),

under the influence of ultraviolet rays they react and

become the initial products for the formation of new,

sometimes even more toxic compounds.

Compared to 1991 (393 thousand tons) the

volume of pollutant emissions from motor transport

in Tashkent has almost not changed, although the

emission rate per unit of motor transport has

decreased many times from 2.62 tons to 0.88 tons

per year. This was achieved in no small part by the

renewal of buses and trucks.

In 2018-2019, Operation Clean Air, conducted

by Tashgorekologiya, found that about 6 per cent of

the capital's vehicles emit emissions with increased

toxicity and smokiness.

Since 1 March 2007, Uzbekistan has banned the

import of used passenger vehicles and medium-duty

trucks and, since 1 January 2010, all vehicles whose

engines do not meet the Euro 3 emission class, the

UzStandart agency recalled.

According to 2019 Toshshahartranshizmat, the

capital's bus fleet consists of 622 Euro-2 eco-

standard buses. There are 572 Euro-3 buses and 131

Euro-5 buses.

Air pollution is a major environmental health

risk factor.The lower the levels of air pollution, the

better the cardiovascular and respiratory health of

the population, both in the long and short term.In

2016, 91% of the world's population lived in areas

where air pollution exceeded the World Health

Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines. 91% of

the world's population lived in areas where pollution

levels exceeded the World Health Organization

(WHO) air quality guidelines.In 2012, an estimated

4.2 million premature deaths occurred worldwide

due to air pollution in urban peripheries and rural

areas (Atmospheric air pollution, www.who.int).

Many sources of air pollution cannot be

controlled by individuals and require consolidated

action by authorities at local, national and regional

levels in sectors such as transport.

Transition to clean ways of generating energy;

prioritise high-speed urban transport, pedestrian and

cycling networks in cities, and intercity rail freight

and passenger transport.

Currently, Tashkent is continuously developing

public transport, optimising bus routes and

constructing new metro stations. In 2020, 14 metro

stations have been commissioned and new Moscow

series cars (81-765/66/67) have been purchased.

The underground is a fairly convenient and fast

mode of rail transport, allowing to relieve a lot of

bus lines. However, the construction of new

underground lines is quite expensive, time-

consuming, and resource-intensive. Also, designing

underground lines to each house is not possible, due

to the complexity and high cost of construction. As

for the buses, their capacity is often not sufficient to

meet passenger needs. One alternative to these

modes of transport could be the tramway.

The tram is a modern mode of transport that can

improve the city's transport and environmental

situation as well as boost the city's economic

statistics.

The tram has the following advantages (Ambient

air quality and health, www.who.int):

• Before railless modes of transport:

− higher capacity of trains compared to other

modes of transport (140 passengers in single

section trams, compared to 90-100 seats in

large class buses, 4-7 seats 1 in cars);

− cheaper operating costs compared to buses.

The cost of liquid fuels is higher than

electricity, and the simplicity and maintenance

of electric motors makes maintenance of

electric vehicles cheaper;

− better dynamic performance, allowing for

smoother acceleration and braking, resulting

in a more comfortable ride for the passengers;

− traffic on the segregated roadway can

minimise the time spent in congestion and

traffic jams;

− the possibility of coupling tram cars into trains

(multi unit system, hereinafter referred to as

CMU), allows increasing the line capacity,

without additional labour resources;

− the consistency of the clearance and the

absence of buffer zones, allows the line to

pass in small places where a trolleybus, or a

bus, would not be able to pass;

− trams are the safest. Trams are involved in 40

times fewer accidents than buses and 140

times fewer passenger cars;

− the tram has a longer depreciation period than

tyre vehicles;

Optimisation of Urban Passenger Transport through the Introduction of Environmentally Friendly Modes of Transport and the Adoption of a

European Policy to Increase the Number of Cyclists to Improve the Environmental Situation in the Republic of Uzbekistan

− world practice shows that former car drivers

are more likely to choose rail than non-rail

modes of transport;

− the presence of a tram line in the street makes

drivers more attentive and disciplined, as they

are forced to keep their eyes on the tram;

− The tram is an environmentally friendly mode

of transport, unlike the bus, which does not

pollute the air;

− the tram has shorter intervals (up to 10

minutes) than the bus;

− the tram has a high routing factor, due to the

low need for interchanges.

• Before the underground:

− Lower cost of operation compared to the

underground, due to the minimal need to build

trestles and dig tunnels, as well as the cost of

buying new trains or rebuilding existing ones;

− Significantly lower initial costs, when

building an express tramway, based on a well-

developed and well-equipped tramway

system;

− possibility of running the tram line directly

along the street and in some cases on a shared

roadway;

− the possibility of a gradual commissioning of

the line. The length of the express tramway

line can increase and change. The

underground line is only commissioned after

all the works have been completed;

− shorter approach distance to the station, which

is undoubtedly important for passengers.

The main characteristic technical and economic

indicator of an express tramway is its

communication speed, which depends on the

maximum possible travel speed along a section of

track, the probability of interference and the distance

between stops.

The carrying capacity of the tramway depends on

the frequency and capacity of the trains.

Tramways and other modes of rail-based urban

transport offer a number of significant

environmental and economic advantages, which

have already been recognised in many foreign

countries.

European countries adopted the Vienna

Declaration on Clean, Safe and Healthy Transport

on 18 May 2020 and the first ever Pan-European

Master Plan for Promoting Cycling, the European

Office of the World Health Organization (WHO)

said. (Vuzlit, https://vuzlit.ru)

The master plan includes measures such as:

− doubling the prevalence of cycling in the

region by 2030;

− a significant increase in cycling and walking

in every country;

− the redistribution of cycling and walking

areas;

− improving the infrastructure for active travel

in each country;

− improving the safety of cyclists and

pedestrians;

− developing national cycling policies, strategies

and plans;

− Integrating cycling issues into health policies,

infrastructure planning and land use plans.

In a region where non-communicable diseases,

including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and

respiratory diseases, account for an appalling 70% of

all deaths, transport and urban policies significantly

affect health, and often not in a good way.

There is interdependence between the

environment and human health and active travel

should be promoted in order to prevent non-

communicable diseases and reduce air pollution,

which kills over half a million people every year.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The plan will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions

by eight million tonnes, relieve traffic congestion

and use urban space more efficiently. It takes eight

times less space to park a bicycle than to park a car.

The ECE has estimated that the economic benefits

from reducing traffic congestion alone would be

about $4.9 billion.

4 CONCLUSION

In this article, we have explored options for solving

the pollution of Uzbekistan's atmosphere by

improving the public transport system and making it

safer and more comfortable for pedestrians and

cyclists to use. These ideas have already been

successfully implemented in many European cities

and can also be applied in the capital of Uzbekistan.

REFERENCES

90% of air emissions in Tashkent come from road

transport. Газета.uz.

https://www.gazeta.uz/ru/2019/08/12/air-pollution/.

TLC2M 2022 - INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND PRACTICAL CONFERENCE TLC2M TRANSPORT: LOGISTICS,

CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE, MANAGEMENT

The rate of warming in Uzbekistan is more than double the

global rate.

https://www.gazeta.uz/ru/2019/06/13/global-

warming/.

Atmospheric air pollution. https://www.who.int/ru/news-

room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-

and-health.

Ambient air quality and health.

https://www.who.int/ru/news-room/fact-

sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-and-health.

The benefits of trams. Vuzlit.

https://vuzlit.ru/1018710/preimuschestva_tramvaev.

Pan-European master plan for cycling promotion.

https://www.euro.who.int/.

Reducing air pollution in Tashkent to the WHO

recommendations is very problematic. News agency

Podrobno.uz. https://podrobno.uz/.

Optimisation of Urban Passenger Transport through the Introduction of Environmentally Friendly Modes of Transport and the Adoption of a

European Policy to Increase the Number of Cyclists to Improve the Environmental Situation in the Republic of Uzbekistan