Assessing carbon reduction effects toward the mode shift of green transportation system

Summary Plans are underway to introduce green transportation systems at Taiwan's famous scenic spot, Sun Moon Lake, to reduce carbon emissions. Carbon reduction effects after changing the current lake tour modes are assessed using a nested logit model with a stated preference survey, which investigated tourists' choice preferences. The empirical results reveal that the modes of electric bus, electric vehicle sharing, and bike are clustered in the same competitive group. Travel cost, in‐vehicle travel time, and out‐vehicle travel time are found to be statistically significant with the expected negative effects. In particular, the attribute of carbon reduction is only significant for green tourists, who are willing to pay US$ 3.5/kg of carbon saved. The result indicates that more efficient carbon reduction is possible by restricting the usage of gasoline vehicles rather than improving the service levels of low‐carbon modes. Notably, the effect of parking charges on emission reduction is equal to the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by 4511 trees per day. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.