الفهرس 
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Abstract
The majority of private cars are designed to accommodate more than
one person. However, private cars are frequently used to transport only
one or two persons. A single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) is a privatelyoperated
vehicle
whose
only
occupant
is
the
driver.
Private
cars
are
not
fully
utilized when only a single occupant is using the vehicle. For
mega cities, this leads to unjustified traffic congestion and shortage in
available parking spaces. Recently, many car manufacturers developed
a number of small-sized vehicles (1-2 seaters), commonly known as
microcars, that can serve different classes of car users. Microcars
occupy less space which is beneficial for cities suffering from limited
space where constructing new roads or upgrading the existing ones is
infeasible. As well, microcars are usually electrically powered which
makes them environment-friendly and supports e-mobility strategies
set up by many governments. Microcars have many advantages
compared to motorcycles and bikes. Firstly, they provide shelter from
adverse weather conditions. Secondly, they allow for more storage
space for carrying personal belongings. Thirdly, microcars are more
culturally accepted in many eastern societies similar to Egypt. This
research examines the public willingness to purchase and use
microcars using a stated preference survey. As well, the research
investigates the operational impacts of using microcars on roads using
traffic microsimulation.
The data collected using the stated preference survey included a
sample size of 317 valid responses. The results showed that females,
younger individuals, and people who do not own any private cars in
the current time are more willing to purchase and use microcars. These
results provide some useful insights into the willingness of individuals
to purchase and use microcars.
In order to investigate the operational impacts of using microcars on
roads, VISSIM was used to model two case studies: a testbed simulated
urban corridor and a suburban expressway in Greater Cairo Region
(GCR). Mixed and exclusive lane scenarios were analyzed using different modal shares for microcars. The results showed that replacing
a portion of private cars by microcars increased the throughput volume
and reduced the overall travel time. Exclusive lanes for microcars
showed better results than mixed lanes on the urban corridor. On the
suburban expressway, however, average travel time was shown to be
lower for mixed lane usage compared to exclusive lanes. The results
of this research support the idea of promoting microcars as a potential
mitigation measure to relief congestion especially in urban areas.