People can be exposed to significant air pollutant levels during transportation, since air pollutant concentrations from transportation are often higher than other microenvironments. Bus is one of the main public means of transportation. It is importa...
People can be exposed to significant air pollutant levels during transportation, since air pollutant concentrations from transportation are often higher than other microenvironments. Bus is one of the main public means of transportation. It is important to understand the characteristics of on-board bus concentrations of air pollutants such as PM2.5 and CO2. The purpose of this study was to determine factors associated with the internal bus concentrations of PM2.5 and CO2. PM2.5 and CO2 concentrations in bus were measured using MicroPEM and CO2 data logger, respectively. The measurements from 5 different bus routes were conducted from 8 A.M to 7 P.M over a 5-day period in Seoul, Korea. The concentration of ambient PM2.5 was obtained from 25 fixed monitoring stations in Seoul (AirKorea, 2017). The in-bus PM2.5 and CO2 concentrations were compared according to the following conditions such as operation/non-operation and rush hour/non-rush hour. The on-board bus PM2.5 concentration was characterized using a peak analysis. The internal bus PM2.5 concentration was influenced by sampling date and ambient PM2.5 concentration. On-board bus CO2 concentrations were significantly higher when buses were in rush hour and on long distance routes (p < 0.05). Peak PM2.5 concentrations occurred mainly at traffic facilities such as traffic lights and crosswalks where buses stopped. Internal bus PM2.5 concentration was affected by ambient air. Internal bus CO2 concentration was associated with operation status, rush/non rush hour and distance of route. The sudden increase noted for internal bus PM2.5 concentration was associated with traffic facilities. However, as this study did not take videos during the sampling period, other operational factors were not found. It is necessary to understand the peak PM2.5 concentration in-bus.