MOVES Versus MOBILE Comparison of Greenhouse Gas and Criterion Pollutant Emissions

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a new generation regulatory mobile emission model, called MOVES (motor vehicle emission simulator), to replace its current emission models, MOBILE and NON ROAD. On its formal adoption, MOVES will have important implications for regional mobile emission inventories, particularly concerning transportation conformity to the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment. MOVES will not only improve emissions inventory estimates, but it will also expand the capabilities to perform quantitative project-level emission inventories that are not possible with the latest version of MOBILE. MOVES is designed to estimate emissions at scales ranging from individual roads and intersections to county-, region-, and nationwide. The first objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive documentation of the differences between MOVES and MOBILE in terms of model methodology, scope, and features. The second objective is to till the void in the literature on the comparison of MOVES and MOBILE at the regional level through a real-world case study. Using Cook County in Illinois, the authors compared emission estimates of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the latest versions of both models. For this purpose, consistent local specific input data are incorporated into the models. The third objective is to provide insights on input data requirements for MOVES to practitioners and metropolitan planning organizations to facilitate their transition from MOBILE to MOVES in the near future.