Impact of road grade on fuel consumption: Potential savings in Nablus, Palestine

Abstract

Energy consumption contributes to the transportation section with inherent impact in terms of delay, pollutions, and gas emissions. This work aims to assess the effect of road grades on gas emissions and vehicle fuel con- sumption in Nablus city. Traffic data in peak hours for thirteen representative segments was collected. Vissim was utilized to find the delay, emission, and fuel consumption, for the current situation compared with no grade scenarios. The average fuel consumption was about 14.4 and 12.4 L for the current conditions and assuming no grades, respectively. The average emissions (CO, NOx, and VOC) during the peak hours for the segments were about 264.1 g, 51.4 g, and 61.2 g with grades, and 227.9 g, 46.3 g, and 52.8 g assuming no grades. The maximum potential fuel savings was estimated in 2035 with about 9% by introducing hybrid and electric. The high po- tential fuel savings can encourage policymakers to adopt this policy in the future.