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Professor Brian Caulfield

Professor In Transportation (Civil Struct & Env. Eng.)
MUSEUM BUILDING
      
Profile Photo

Professor Brian Caulfield

Professor In Transportation (Civil Struct & Env. Eng.)
MUSEUM BUILDING

 Brian.Caulfield@tcd.ie

 3531896 2534


Prof Caulfield is a Professor in Transportation in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering. He is also a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin. Since joining the Department Prof Caulfield has embarked on an intensive research program addressing global issues such as the environmental impacts of transport and methods to reduce the carbon impacts of transport and in 2017 he addressed the Irish Citizens Assembly on this topic. He recently provided advice to the Climate Change Advisory Council on pathways to decreasing transport emissions by 2030. Prof Caulfield was a member of the Steering Group for the review and update of the GDA Transport Strategy with the National Transport Authority. Prof Caulfield has published over 200 papers in these areas in high impact international journals and international conferences and to date has been awarded aprox. €12 million in research funding (from EPA, SFI, FP7, CEDR, TII, DoT, RSA, SEAI and HORIZON Europe). He currently has 7 PhD students and 7 postdoctoral researchers in his research group. Prof Caulfield also a member of a number of National and International research groups and is the former Chair of the Irish Transportation Research Network and was a member of the executive committee of the Universities Transport Studies Group as well as several committees at the Transportation Research Board in Washington D.C. He is an Editor of Transport Policy (impact factor: 6.3) and an Associate Editor of Sustainable Cities and Society (Impact Factor: 10.5). He is a member of the International Editorial Board of Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment (Impact Factor: 7.3), Case Studies on Transport Policy (Impact Factor: 2.4), Journal of Transport Geography (Impact Factor: 5.7) and the Journal of Cycling and Micromobility Research.
  Cost Benefit Analysis   Cost Benefit Analysis   Discrete Choice Modelling   Discrete Choice Modelling   Driving simulation   Energy Ecomomics   Environmental aspects of transportation   Environmental impacts of transport   Environmental Impacts of Transport   Impacts of new public transport   Intelligent Transport Systems   Intelligent Vehicles   Intermodal Transport   New Means of Transport   Public Transport   Public Transport Infrastructure   Road Safety   Simulation and modelling transportation networks   Stated preference analysis   Stated Preference Analysis   Telecommunications and transport   Traffic Congestion   Transport   Transport Demand Management   Transport Economics   Transport economics   Transport Modelling   Transport Modelling   Transport policy
Project Title
 CIRCUIT: Causal Inference for Resilient Cities and Urban Integrated Transport
From
2026
To
2030
Summary
This project focuses on understanding the environmental impact of transport and energy use in Ireland. Transport accounts for about 19% of total emissions, while residential use and energy industries contribute 10% and 16%, respectively. To manage these impacts, we need to understand the connections between city growth, transportation systems, and energy consumption. The Causal Inference for Resilient Cities and Urban Integrated Transport (CIRCUIT) project uses advanced statistical and machine learning techniques to analyse travel behaviour and energy use patterns. By incorporating new technologies like artificial intelligence and big data, we aim to create strategies that support sustainable city development and ensure reliable, affordable energy for everyone, aligning with the UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, and SDG 7 ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
Funding Agency
SEAI
Project Title
 ROBUST (Electric shaRed mOBility hUbS Trials)
From
2023
To
2027
Summary
The project proposes a long-term mobility hubs trial in four urban locations in Ireland, Galway, Sligo, Donegal, and Dublin. The installed hub infrastructure will comprise e-car charge points, electric vehicles and e-bikes (provided by partners ESB & Enterprise) and further expand the offer of micro-mobility options. The mobility hubs show evidence of being an effective intervention to change travel behaviours and the ROBUST project will seek to develop an evidence-informed toolkit for mobility hub deployment. The 2-year trial will provide an opportunity to study the persistence of modal shift. The hub will serve as an incubator, accelerating the uptake of electric mobility options by allowing interacting with future mobility technologies and removing barriers through participatory research. Various stakeholders will be engaged in the process of hub evolution through stakeholder workshops and co-creation workshops. The project will use an experimental design comparing prior-to-trial travel behaviour, engagement with the hub modal options and after-trial persistence of the modal shift.
Funding Agency
SEAI
Person Months
48
Project Title
 TRACT: TRAnsport Behaviour Change Trials
From
2022
To
2025
Summary
TRACT has two distinctive trials, one which will focus on the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and the second using the mobility hub concept to encourage modal shift. The e-mobility trial will consist of a TRACT smartphone app that will be developed to inform users about their driving behaviour and the impact of switching to an electric vehicle. Several specific use cases will be examined (those without driveways, taxi drivers, rural groups) to determine what would encourage them to switch. The mobility-hub trial will combine the use of shared bikes, cars, active modes and public transport. A suburban location will be selected, and shared cars and bikes (provided by partners Yuko & BleeperBike) will be located there, advertised and promoted to the community. This model has been shown to reduce car ownership and emissions internationally. The 18-month trial will enable the TRACT researchers to measure the impacts of these interventions. The results from the trials will be extrapolated to the wider population to demonstrate what the potential emissions reduction could be in similar areas and user groups. A cost-effectiveness analysis, looking at wider economic benefits, will also be conducted at several stages of the project to feed into policymakers and inform local and national policy.
Funding Agency
SEAI & Department of Transport
Person Months
36
Project Title
 Irish Car Stock Model (RATE)
From
To
Summary
In transport emissions modelling is a process that uses a lot of data. The accuracy of this modelling process is very much dependant on the quality of the base data used in this process. In 2019, it was estimated that 74% of trips in Ireland were made by private car. This demonstrates the importance of having an accurate car stock model. The RATE project will develop a sophisticated national car stock model that will incorporate purchasing preferences with historical data to provide a state-of-the-art national car stock model. The 2023 Climate Action plan places aims to decrease transport emissions in Ireland by 50% compared to 2018 levels. The policy uses the Avoid-Shift-Improve paradigm and under the improve section it is planned to sell 845,000 private electric cars. The improve section of the plan is responsible for removing 4.74 MtCO2eq and is the largest policy tool in the transport sector accounting for 43% of all emissions in the sector. Given the importance and the amount of emissions required to be reduced by this policy, it is vital to have the most up-to-date tools to monitor the success and project future trends. That is what is planned in the RATE project. The RATE project will: - Provide realistic estimated of the potential growth of EVs in the Irish Market - Estimate the associated emissions reductions from EV growth - Model the changes in air quality indicators such as particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide - Build upon existing SEAI funded research projects
Funding Agency
SEAI
Project Title
 CONUNDRUM - Co-Creating sustainable and shared community mobility
From
To
Summary
Tackling transport and mobility challenges is critical to addressing the climate crisis, given that transport emissions accounted for more than 20% of sectoral emissions in Ireland in 2020. A recent OECD (2022) report noted that current policies that aim to decarbonise the system via private vehicle improvements are `unlikely to lead to substantially different patterns of behaviour, rapid emissions reductions, and large well-being improvements'. A key challenge is how to move beyond a focus on private, electric mobility to engage with more radical low-carbon alternatives. Our team proposes to accelerate progress towards carbon emission reductions but also to actively enhance and sustain community wellbeing. The key objective here is to empower communities to adopt more sustainable modes of mobility by demonstrating how shared low-carbon transport can plug the gap when high frequency public transport might not be available. As well as addressing carbon reduction targets, shared mobility could support community wealth building through the development of novel initiatives that address a community need and reconnect people to their place and each other, contributing to addressing the challenge of isolation that many more vulnerable communities feel post-Covid (Government of Ireland, 2021). Balancing climate action with social justice requires recognition that not all places are equal, with some smaller towns and rural areas facing much more challenging sustainability transitions. We will complete an initial mapping of key relevant stakeholders in each location, building on the existing work of TASC (our societal impact champion,) who have initiated some community engagement already around just transitions in Enniscorthy. We will then develop the SCOOT App using deep learning methods, behavioural tools and tailored information to enable the community to optimise modes of transport that reduce emissions and decrease travel costs and travel time. The third solution will see the amalgamation of the previous two solutions into one research activity, modelling how the potential change of transport modes impacts the south-eastern regional transport model developed by the National Transport Authority. The changes in mode preferences and the use of shared modes of transport will be modelled for the Enniscorthy area to determine how it affects travel times and emissions in the community.
Funding Agency
SFI

Page 1 of 5
Details Date
Member of the Royal Irish Academy committee on Climate Change and Environmental Sciences 2022 - 2027
Working Group Member: Innovative Mobility for the Periphery - OECD 2020-2021
Member of the Dublin Energy Transition Team (Dublin City Council/Codema) 2021-2022
Steering Committee Member: Review of the Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area, National Transport Authority 2021-2022
Editorial Board - Journal of Cycling and Micromobility Research 2023 - to present
Steering Committee Member: Review of the Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area, National Transport Authority 2021-22
Editor - Transport Policy (Impact Factor: 6.173) 2022 - present
Senior Editor - Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews (Impact Factor: 16.799) 2018 - present
Editorial Board - Journal of Transport Geography (Impact Factor: 5.899) 2019 - present
Editorial Board - Transport Policy (Impact Factor: 6.173) 2019 - 2022
Editorial Board - Case Studies on Transport Policy (Cite Score: 3.7) 2018 - present
Editorial Board - Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment (Impact Factor: 7.041) 2017 - present
Member of the Executive Committee of the Universities' Transport Study Group (UTSG) 2015-2018
Chair of the Irish Transport Research Network 2013-2017
Member of the Transport Statistics Liaison Group (Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Central Statistics office) 2010
Member of the TRB Committee on Emerging and Innovative Public Transport and Technologies (AP020) 2010 -2019
Irish member of the management committee of COST Action TU0804 'Survey Harmonisation with New Technologies Improvement' (SHANTI) 2009 -2011
Member of the The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport in Ireland Policy committee 2009 - 2011
Member of the EU-Smartcities working group - Mobility and Transport 2016
Member of the TRB Committee on Bicycle Transportation, ANF20 2012 - 2020
Member of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport Working Group on Intelligent Transport Systems 2015
Charly, A., Caulfield, B., Mapping Urban Readiness for Electric Vehicle Adoption: A Geospatial Analysis, World Symposium on Transport and Land Use Research, Beijing, 7-11 June, 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Khattak, A., Caulfield, B., A Multi-Horizon Forecasting Framework for Urban Rail: Lessons from the Dublin Luas, Thredbo19, Valletta, Malta, 13 to 17 September, 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Singh, A., Phelan, D., O' Leary, M., Gan, M., McArdle, R., Caulfield B., Moore-Cherry, N., Planning Inclusive Mobility Transitions under Uncertainty: Evidence from a Small-Town Public Transport Intervention in Ireland, Thredbo 19, Valletta, Malta, 13 to 17 September, 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Choudhari, T., Illahi, U., O'Mahony, M., Caulfield, B, Activity Analysis using Shared Mobility App: Evidence from Mobility Hub Trials in Dublin, Thredbo 19, Valletta, Malta, 13 to 17 September, 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Voß, A., Singh, A., Caulfield, B., McCloskey, D., Assessing Distribution Network Constraints Under Rapid Rural EV Electrification, World Transport Research Conference, Toulouse, France, July, 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Brazil, B., Whitaker, K., Egan, R., Singh A., Colleary., B., Caulfield, B., Quantifying Latent Cycling Demand: A Case Study of Cork, Ireland and its Hinterland, World Transport Research Conference, Toulouse, France, July, 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Khattak, A., Caulfield, B., Hybrid Two-Phase Time Series Modelling and Explainable AI for Private Electric Vehicle Forecasting in Irela, World Transport Research Conference, Toulouse, France, July, 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Khattak, A., Caulfield, B, Integrating Variational Mode Decomposition with Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Units for Robust Passenger Flow Forecasting in Light Rail Systems, Urban Transitions, Barcelona, November, 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Bellew, C., Caulfield, B., A Difference-in-Differences Analysis of the Impact of light rail on House Prices in Dublin, Urban Transitions, Barcelona, November, 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
Brazil, W., Whitaker, K., Egan, R., Singh, A., Colleary, B., Caulfield, B., Predictive Modelling of Cycling Uptake: Assessing urban and peri-urban infrastructure needs, Urban Transitions, Barcelona, November, 2026, Conference Paper, PUBLISHED
  

Page 1 of 23
Caulfield, B, All-island infrastructure resilience: how prepared are we?, Discourse Series, Royal Irish Academy, 11th April, 2026, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Caulfield, B, Decarbonising Transport, Climate Action Plan and 2030 Targets - How the Engineering Sector can play a Key Role in Meeting our Binding Targets - CPD Seminar 2026, Engineers Ireland, 16th April, 2026, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Caulfield, B, Decarbonising our Transport Networks, European Supply Chain Day 2026 at E3, Trinity College Dublin, 16th April, 2026, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Caulfield, B, Decarbonising Transport, Earth Day, Guinness Enterprise Centre, 22nd April, 2026, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Egan, R., Julienne, H., Caulfield, B., A cyclist, a family or a vehicle? Claiming the road with the e-cargo bike, Applied Mobilities, 11, (1), 2026, p58 - 78, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
Caulfield, B, The summer we lost our minds over a junction, ITS Seminar Series, Monash University, Melbourne, 7th April, 2025, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Caulfield, B, Pathways to reducing transport emissions, Seminar Series, University of Melbourne, 8th April, 2025, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Caulfield, B, Pathways to decarbonising transport, policy and practice examples from Ireland, Seminar Series, University of Sydney, 16th April, 2025, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Caulfield, B, Greece's Transportation and Infrastructure Summit Priorities for connectivity in Europe, Greece"s Transportation and Infrastructure Summit, Athens, 30th April, 2025, The Economist, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
Caulfield, B, Equity impacts of decarbonising transport, Invited Seminar, Just Transition Commission, 12th June, 2025, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED

  


Page 1 of 12
Award Date
Fellow of Trinity College Dublin 2020
The Michael Beesley Award, honourable mention August, 2007
ITRN Best paper - Determining the welfare effects of introducing a cap‐and‐share scheme on rural commuters September 2011
ITRN Best paper- Impact of emissions information on mode choices in Dublin: Stated Preference experiments September 2013
ITRN Best paper - Encouraging sustainable commuting behaviour through smart policy provision 2017
Education & Public Engagement Champion - CONNECT 2021
Sustainability Leadership Award 2023: Awarded by Trinity College Dublin for Excellence in Research, Education and Engagement 2023