Call For Papers: Special Issue of ATS – Mobility on Demand in Asia

An International Research Group of “Challenges of Mobile Ride-Hailing Applications in Asian Countries: Their Impacts on Local Transportation Market” in Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS) is organizing a virtual special issue entitled “Mobility on Demand in Asia” on a journal of Asian Transport Studies (ATS).

Scope of Special Issue:
The widespread adoption of mobility on demand (MOD) has changed travel behavior and ways of life all over the world. MOD may be defined as a technology-enabled demand responsive services that provide access to a personal mobility, private or shared ride, public transport, and personal mobility-based assistance, such as goods delivery. MOD includes Mobility as a Service (MaaS), ride-hailing applications (RHA), and other shared mobility platforms. The advent of MOD has prompted various sectors to take advantage of the new technology to attain the most benefits, maintain sustainability, and promote equity. Certain characteristics of Asian cities, such as limited public transport, widely available informal transport, and heavy reliance on motorcycles influenced the unique development and adoption of MOD. This special issue, initiated by an international research group (IRG) entitled “Challenges of Mobile Ride-Hailing Applications in Asian Countries: Their Impacts on Local Transportation Market” and sponsored by the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS), aims to enrich the current literature, which was done mostly in the western world, and to acquire more insights on MOD research. This special issue covers the topics of MOD demand, supply, users’ characteristics, service providers, operations, impacts on transport system, transport planning, policy and regulation in the Asian context. MOD-related articles, such as those concerning super apps that include MOD, online food-delivery, and environmental and social impacts of MOD are also welcome; however, the scope of this special issue would not include the technological aspects, such as matching or dispatching algorithms and routing optimization.

The special issue encourages articles on
– Empirical evidence that reflects the distinctiveness of the Asian context and its implications on transport planning, policy, regulation,
– Impacts of the MOD adoption on transport system performance, transport planning, environment, society, and the economy.

Important Dates
31 December 2021           Submission Deadline to be eligible for an APC waiver.
31 March 2022                 Submission Deadline.

Article Publication Charge
– Open Access fees for relevant, accepted papers published in this special issue will be waived for all submissions received by 31 December 2021.
– For submission later than 31 December 2021, members of EASTS’s domestic society and members of on-going International Research Groups of EASTS may be eligible for financial support on Article Publishing Charge, click for more details.

Submission Method:
All submissions must be original and may not be under review by any other journals. All manuscripts will be submitted via the Asian Transport Studies online submission system. Authors should indicate that the paper is submitted for consideration for publication in this special issue. Author Guidelines: https://www.elsevier.com/journals/asian-transport-studies/2185-5560/guide-for-authors

When choosing Manuscript “Article Type” during the submission procedure, click “VSI: MOD in Asia”, otherwise your submission will be handled as a regular manuscript.

All submitted papers should address significant issues pertinent to the themes of this issue and fall within the scope of Asian Transport Studies. Criteria for acceptance include originality, contribution, and scientific merit. All manuscripts must be written in English with high scientific writing standards.

Acceptance for publication will be based on referees’ and editors’ recommendations following a standard peer review process.

All submissions and inquiries should be directed to the attention of Editor in Chief: Hironori Kato: kato@civil.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp