Professor Dimitris Potoglou
PhD (McMaster) FHEA
Professor in Transport and Applied Choice Analysis
School of Geography and Planning
- Media commentator
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
Professor Dimitris Potoglou specialises in Transport and Applied Choice Analysis and is the Programme Director of the MSc Transport and Planning, a flagship specialist programme within the School of Geography and Planning.
Dimitris leads research in the areas of travel behaviour, demand for cleaner vehicles and related infrastructure, as well as innovative interdisciplinary research involving the study of individual choices.
His current research efforts relate to the behavioural aspects of ‘decarbonisation of road transport through electrification’, an increasingly critical area of transport and mobility decision making. The work primarily concentrates around four dimensions: (a) the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) (e.g., Potoglou et al., 2020; Potoglou and Song, 2020); (b) the demand for public EV charging infrastructure (e.g., Potoglou et al., 2023; Song and Potoglou, 2024); (c) the study of inequalities from the electrification of road transport (e.g., Hopkins et al., 2023); (d) the study of active travel uptake and the role of public transport infrastructure (e.g., Albahlal et al. 2024).
Dimitris is the UK lead of the 'Clean and Equitable Transportation' thrust of the CLEETS (Clean Energy and Equitable Transportation Solutions) Global Centre, a 5-year research initiative sponsored by the NSF and UKRI.
Parallel to this activity, Dimitris leads research work with the International Energy Agency’s Annex 79 on ‘occupants’ willingness to share information for improved comfort and energy efficiency’ (Haggar et al., 2022). This project involves a strong international group of researchers and links to Dimitris’ prior work on studying individuals’ privacy and security trade-offs in different contexts; for example, the value of personal information, privacy and security in real-life contexts such as healthcare data, internet use and rail-travel (e.g. Potoglou et al., 2015; Potoglou et al., 2017).
Dimitris currently serves as Member of the Welsh Government's Independent Review Panel for the 'Review and Implementation of Local Authority Air Quality Measures in Wales'. He is the editor (with Prof. Justin Spinney) of the 'Handbook of Travel Behaviour' (Edward Elgar), and serves as Associate Editor for Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment and the SAE International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, Energy, Environment, & Policy. He is also member of the editorial board for the Journal of Transport Geography, and Sustainability, Section: Sustainable Urban and Rural Development.
Prior to joining Cardiff University, Dimitris worked as a research policy analyst at RAND Europe, a not-for-profit research institute, and a post-doctoral fellow at the Delft University of Technology.
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Recent activity
- [Article] Song, R. and Potoglou, D. 2024. Electric vehicle public charging choices: A qualitative investigation. Transportation Planning and Technology, 1-23. (https://doi.org/10.1080/03081060.2024.2367754)
- [Keynote address] “The role of information systems to better understand, analyse and improve urban mobility”, SUMMITS’24 – Conference of the Turkish Intelligent Transportation Systems Association, 4 May 2024 (Keynote address, online). This talk can be viewed here.
- [Enriching Student Life Awards, 2024] Nominated for: [1] Most Impactful and Outstanding Use of Assessment as Learning, [2] Doctoral Supervisor of the Year, [3] Personal Tutor of the Year, and [4] Most Outstanding Learning Experience
- [Article] Albahlal, F., Haggar, P. and Potoglou, D. 2024. Eliciting citizens’ priorities for active travel infrastructure investments: A qualitative analysis of best-worst scaling experiments. Journal of Transport and Health 36, article number: 101795. (10.1016/j.jth.2024.101795)
- [Invited Conference Panel Member] “Unlocking success: UK-Türkiye institutional partnerships” invited panel member by the British Council, EURIE – Eurasia Higher Education Summit, 28 February 2024, Istanbul, Türkiye
- [Research Leadership] UK Thrust Lead for Clean and Equitable Transportation: Clean Energy and Equitable Transportation Solutions, CLEETS Global Centre (NSF-UKRI Global Centre)
- [Book] Potoglou, D. and Spinney, J. eds. 2024. Handbook of travel behaviour. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
- [Conference Report] 55th UTSG Conference @Cardiff University, 10-12 July, 2023
Research
Dimitris is a member of the Spatial Planning and Analysis in City Environments (SPACE) and the Festivals Research Groups, the Transport Futures Research Network, the Electric Vehicle Centre for Excellence and the Management Board of the newly established Sustainable Transport Interdisciplinary Doctoral Training Hub.
Interests / Areas of Expertise
- Travel behaviour
- Dicarbonisation of transport through electrification
- Car ownership, type choice and demand for cleaner cars
- Privacy and security trade-offs
- Design of discrete choice and best-worst scaling experiments to inform public policy and decision making
- Quantitative methods
Projects
2024: Wales Active Travel and Equitable Transportation Transdisciplinary Research Hub
Wales Innovation Network: Small Grant Funding
Co-I (PI: Dr Catherine Purcell)
Total: £6,048
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2024 – 2028: Clean Energy and Equitable Transportation Solutions (CLEETS)
NSF (US) and UKRI
Co-lead ‘Clean and Equitable Transportation’ (PI: Dr A. Sharma, University of Illinois)
Total: £10m
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2023 - 2024: Understanding preferences and attitudes for public charging:
The case of Great Britain
EPSRC: DTE Network+
PI
Total: £6,400
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2023 – 2024: An Information rights ethics framework for National Highways
National Highways
Co-I (PI: Dr Y. Cherdantseva)
Total: £105,501
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2022 – 2023: One size fits all? Inferring electric vehicle battery size requirements via driving patterns and associated travel behaviours – A proof of concept analysis
Digital Transformation Innovation Institute, Cardiff University
PI
Total: £3,810
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2022 – 2023: Advanced Charging and Battery Technologies for Electric and Autonomous Vehicles Living Lab (ACB-EAV) / Advanced Charging Technologies and Batteries set up
Cardiff University Research Infrastructure Fund 2022-23
Co-I, PI: Prof. M. Haddad,School of Engineering, Cardiff University
Total: £295,000
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2022: Accelerating the ICE-to-EV transition
Department for Transport / TRIG led by Travel AI Ltd.
PI for Cardiff University (with Profs. Liana Cipcigan and Omer Rana)
Total: £29,000
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2021 – 2023: i-gCar4ITS: Innovative and Green Career Development for Intelligent Transportation System Applications
British Council, Connect4Innovation: UK-Turkey Higher Education Institutional Partnership Fund
PI for Cardiff University (with Dr Metin Aydin, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Turkey)
Total: £29,933
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2020 – 2025: Sustainable Transport Interdisciplinary Doctoral Training Hub
EPSRC / Cardiff University
Co-I (PI: Prof. Carol Featherstone)
Total: £365,485
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2019 – 2020: Transport policy interventions to curb particulate matter emissions in Chandigarh, India
Global Challenges Research Fund
Co-PI (with Dr Georgina Santos)
Total: £37,027.34
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2018 – 2021: Decarbonising Transport through Electrification, a Whole System Approach EPSRC: Decarbonising Transport Networks
Co-I (PI: Prof. Liana Cipcigan)
Total: £1.1m
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2019 – 2021 : Congestion Pricing: Planning for optimal strategies and commuters’ behavioural implications under different pricing schemes
Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC): A Government of India Initiative
Co-PI (with Dr Prasanta Sahu, BITS Pilani University, India)
Total: £45,500
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2018 – 2019: Adoption of Electric Buses in India
Global Challenges Research Fund
PI (in collaboration with BITS Pilani University, India)
Total: £13,970
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2018 – 2019: Creating demand for sustainable metals and minerals: The case of alternative fuelled vehicles and mobile phones
Funded by the Swedish Government
Co–PI (with Prof. Lorraine Whitmarsh, School of Psychology, University of Bath)
Total: £28,077
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2017 - 2018: Cardiff University Research Leave Fellowship Scheme
Total: £15,000
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2013 - 2015: Understanding the relative valuations of research impact: Applying best-worst scaling experiments to survey the public & biomedical/health researchers
Funded by the Medical Research Council (Ref: MR/L010569/1).
Co-I (PI: Prof. Jonathan Grant, King's College London)
Total: £154,934.75
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2013 - 2015: Financing Local Public Transport using Land Value Capture Tax : The Case of Cardiff Bus
Funded by British Academy/Leverlulme Small Research Grant (Ref: SG122122).
PI (with Dr Yiming Wang, University of Bristol)
Total: £6,947
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2012 - 2014: Public Perception of security and privacy: Assessing Knowledge, Collecting Evidence, Translating Research into Action.
Funded by Project PACT, FP7 and DG Enterprise, Grant Agreement No. 285635.
PI for RAND Europe
Total: €2.5m
Teaching
MSc Transport and Planning
Module leader for:
- CPT896 - Transport Analysis, 2012 -
- CPT876 - Researching Transport, 2012 -
- CPT877 - Transport and the City, 2014 - 2023
BSc Human Geography and Planning & BSc Urban Planning and Development
Module leader for:
- CP0338 - Sustainable Transport, 2014 - 2023
Biography
Education and Qualifications
- Postgraduate Certificate for University Teaching and Learning, Cardiff University, UK, 2014
- PhD Geography, McMaster University, Canada, 2006
- MSc Environmental Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece, 2001
- BSc Environmental Studies, University of the Aegean, Greece, 1999
Career overview
- Professor, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, UK, 2024 -
- Reader, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, UK, 2020 - 2024
- Senior Lecturer, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, UK, 2017 - 2020
- Lecturer, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, UK, 2012 - 2017
- Policy Analyst, RAND Europe, UK, 2008 - 2012 (part-time 9/2012 - 1/2015)
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, 2006 - 2008
- Teaching and Research Assistant, McMaster University, Canada, 2002 - 2006
- Research Associate, Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, Greece, 2001
- Instructor, Occupational Training Centre "Integration", Greece, 2000
- Research Assistant, University of the Aegean, Greece, 1997-1999
Visiting academic appointments
- Visiting Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Turkiye, 11/2023 (1 week)
- Visiting Researcher, Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Salerno, Italy, 11/2016 (2 weeks)
- Visiting Professor, Department of Economics, University of Messina, Italy, 03/2016 (2 weeks)
- Honorary Lecturer, The University of Sydney Business School, Institute of Transportation and Logistics Studies, The University of Sydney, Australia, 05/2016 (3 weeks)
- Guest Researcher, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, 2008 - 2012
Honours and awards
- Nominated for Enriching Students' Life Award, Cardiff University, 2014, 2015, 2023 and 2024
- Alice Farrands' Research Scholarship, RAND Europe, 2008
- Alexander S. Onassis Benefit Foundation, Academic Scholarship, 2002 - 2006
- McMaster University, Graduate Scholarship, 2002-2006
- Canadian Transportation Research Forum, Jim Davey Award for Best Student Paper, 2004 and 2005
- Hellenic-Canadian Federation of Ontario Academic Award, 2004
- University of the Aegean, Graduation Award, 1999
- Greek State Institute of Scholarships (IKY), 1997 and 1998
Awards to students
- Kh. M. Rifat Foysal, Shortlisted for The RTPI Student Awards for Research Excellence, 2024
- Botakoz Arslangulova (née Abdrazakova), Highly Commended for the RT Wynn Medallion for Best Student–Paper, CILT–Wales National Transport Awards, 2016
- Matthew Barron, John Heasman Prize 2015-16, British Parking Association, 2016
- Emma Thorpe, RTPI Research Awards First Prize in the Student Category, 2015
- Matthew Barron, Sawtooth Software Academic Grant Recipient, 2015
- Chao Qi, John Heasman Bursary 2014-15, British Parking Association, 2014
- Lucy Baker, RT Wynn Medallion for Best Student-Paper, CILT-Wales National Transport Awards, 2014
Professional memberships
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2014 -
- Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Transport and Logistics, 2013 - 2018
Speaking engagements
- “The role of information systems to better understand, analyse and improve urban mobility”, SUMMITS’24 – Conference of the Turkish Intelligent Transportation Systems Association, 4 May 2024 (Online). This talk can be viewed here.
- “Studying individual choices towards urban travel decarbonisation”, UTSG Funders’ Meeting, 15 March 2024, Oxford
- “Unlocking success: UK-Türkiye institutional partnerships” invited panel member by the British Council, EURIE – Eurasia Higher Education Summit, 28 February 2024, Istanbul, Türkiye
- “Equitable roll out of electric-vehicle charging infrastructure: The challenges ahead and possible solutions”, Decarbonising Transport: Obstacles, Options and Opportunities, Section: Electrification and Place, Cut Carbon Network, 16 May 2023 (Online)
- “Indentifying priorities for walking and cycling infrastructure: A citizen-oriented approach", Conviening the THINK members: Improving Walking Standards, Transport and Health Integrated research Network (THINK), 11 May 2023. This talk can be viewed here.
- “Consumer intentions for alternative fuelled and autonomous vehicles: A segmentation analysis across six countries”, 18th Data Lab Knowledge Sharing Event, Volkswagen, 9 December 2022 (Online).
- “Studying the demand for cleaner vehicles and charging infrastructure: An overview of associated factors and arising issues”, Cooperation for Climate and Green Deal Symposium, 24-26 October 2022, Samsun (Online Keynote Address). This talk can be viewed here.
- “Can we influence travel behaviour?”, Dubai Expo Travel Workshop 2020: “How and where will we travel?”, 21 November, 2021. This talk can be viewed here.
- "Behavioural issues in the adoption of electrical vehicles”, Online Workshop, Surrey Centre for Cyber Security, University of Surrey, 24 September 2021. This talk can be viewed here.
- “The role of manufacturing materials and autonomous driving in preferences for cars: A cross-country comparison”, Canadian Institute of Transportation Engineers – Windsor Chapter Webinar, 16 February, 2021. This talk can be viewed here.
- 'Congestion Pricing: Planning for optimal strategies and commuters’ behavioural implications under different pricing schemes', 29 June 2020, SPARC Webinars.
- 'Understanding consumer preferences for cleaner and autonomous vehicles', Transport Futures Conference, 6 June, 2019, Cardiff.
- 'What Policy measures Have Been Proposed Based on the Associated Factors with Traffic Crashes?', Traffic Safety Conference 2019, 11-13 March, Riyadh. This talk can be viewed here.
- 'Privacy of Health Records: Evidence from a pan–European Study', Institute for Policy Research, University of Bath: Evaluating Social Prescribing, 28 November, 2017, Bath.
- 'Privacy of Health Records: Evidence from a pan–European Study', ADRC-Wales: Public Engagement and Social Science Research Challenges and Emerging Solutions, 22 June, 2017, Cardiff.
- 'Privacy of Health Records: Evidence from a pan-European Study', Digital Enlightenment Forum: Trusted Data Management in Health Care, 7 June, 2016, Amsterdam.
- 'Bus Stop, Property Price and Land Value Tax A Quantile Hedonic Exploration', Transport Statistics User Group Wales, 25 April, 2016, Cardiff.
- 'How did we get here? Andrea Collins and Dimitris Potoglou talk to Andy Fryers, Hay Festival Winter Weekend, 27 November, 2015, Hay-on-Wye.
- 'Short-stay Car Parking Choice Behaviour: A Case Study of Cardiff City Centre', ParkEx, 21 April, 2015, The NEC, Birmingham.
- 'Public Preferences for Security and Privacy: Evidence from a Pan-European Study' School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University; Event hosted by the Innovation and Engagement Unit, 11 March, 2015, Cardiff. This talk can be viewed here.
- 'Preferences for Privacy, Surveillance and Security: A Pan-European Study on the Metro/Train Travel' School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University; Event hosted by the Spatial Analysis Research Group, 19 March, 2015, Cardiff.
- 'Design of stated preference discrete choice experiments and surveys', School of Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University, 13 November 2013, Newcastle. This talk can be viewed here.
- 'Economic value of personal information online: Preliminary findings from three stated preference discrete choice experiments', Institute for Transport Studies, 17 May 2013, Leeds.
- 'How about an electric car? Review of barriers, policy interventions and an exploratory study in the East of England', 22 February 2012, Research Centre on Economics of Institutions, University of Rome III, Rome.
- Keynote Speaker, XIII Scientific Meeting of the Italian Society of Transport Economics (SIET), 16 -17 June 2011, Messina (declined).
- 'Security, at what cost? Quantifying people's trade-offs across privacy, liberty and security', Modelling World, Transport Modelling Seminars, 17 June 2010, London.
- 'Security, at what cost? Quantifying people's trade-offs across privacy, liberty and security', US House of Representatives, Washington, DC: Briefed professional staffers of the Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee of the Homeland Security Committee, 12 March 2010, Washington, DC.
- 'Environmental valuation of goods and services using discrete choice modelling', Dept. of Environmental Studies, University of the Aegean, 19 January 2010, Mytilene.
- 'Security, at what cost? Quantifying people's trade-offs across privacy, liberty and security', RAND Europe Board of Trustees, 14 January 2009, London.
Committees and reviewing
- Programme Director, MSc Transport and Planning, 2014 –
- Member of the Postgraduate Taught Management Committee, 2014 –
- Member of the Postgraduate Taught Programmes Student-Staff Panel, 2013 –
External activity
Editorial appointments
– Associate Editor, SAE International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, Energy, Environment, & Policy, SAE International, 2024 –
– Associate Editor, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Elsevier, 2019 –
– Editor, Handbook of Travel Behaviour, Edward Elgar Publishing (with Prof. Justin Spinney), 2024
– Guest Editor, Concept, Theory and Practice of Road Pricing: Lessons Learned and Way Forward, Research in Transportation Economics (with Drs G. Santos and P. Sahu), Elsevier, 2022
– Series Managing Editor in the 'Urban and Transportation Studies' Working Paper Series, Higher School of Economics, National Research University, Moscow, Russia, 2018 –
– Guest Editor on the Special Issue 'Travel Behaviour and Sustainable Transport of the Future', Sustainability, MDPI, 2018
Editorial and advisory board member in international journals
– Editorial Board Member, Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, 2021 –
– Editorial Board Member, Sustainability, Section: "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development", MDPI, 2018 –
– Advisory Board Member, Sci, MDPI, 2018 –
– Editorial Board Member, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Elsevier, 2018 – 2019
– Editorial Board Member, The Open Transportation Journal, Bentham Science Publishers, 2008 – 2015
Scientific committees
– Wales Independent Review Panel, Review and Implementation of Local Authority Air Quality Measures in Wales, Welsh Government, 2020 –
– US Transportation Research Board's Task Force Member on Data Privacy, Security and Protection Policy, 2015 –
– US Transportation Research Board Committees (Friend): (1) Social and Economic Factors of Transportation (ADD20), (2) Statistical Methods (ABJ80), (3) Travel Survey Methods (ABJ40), (4) Traveller Behaviour and Values (ADB10), 2015 –
– Universities’ Transport Study Group (UTSG), Cardiff University Correspondent, 2013 –
– Programme Committee Member, International Conference on Geographical Information Systems: Theory, Applications and Management (GISTAM), 2017 – 2019
– UK–Ireland Planning Research Conference, Transport Planning - Track Chair, 6–7 September 2016, Cardiff
– Universities Transport Study Group (UTSG), Executive Committee Member, 2013 – 2017
– Methodological Innovations Committee, European Transport Conference (ETC), 2011 – 2014
Expert reviewer (most recent)
– Horizon Europe Framework Programme, ‘Urban planning and design for just, sustainable, resilient and climate-neutral cities by 2030’. (HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-01), Independent Evaluator, 2022
– University of Surrey, Department of Tourism & Transport, Independent Assessor for Promotion Application to Reader, 2022
– Luxembourg National Research Fund, ‘Intermobility’ Programme, Research Proposal Expert Reviewer, 2022
– Arabian Gulf University, College of Graduate Studies, Research and Ethics Committee, Research Proposal Expert Reviewer, 2022
– Horizon Europe Climate, Framework Programme – ‘Climate Sciences and Responses’ (HORIZON-CL5-2021-D1-01), Ethics Expert, European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), European Commission, 2022
– Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (Formas), Expert Review Panel Member, 2021 Formas Annual Open Call ‘Urban and Rural Areas’, 2021-2024
– Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (Formas), External Reviewer, 2021 Formas Annual Open Call ‘Rural areas and Regional Development’, 2021
– European Science Foundation, Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg (FNR), Expert Reviewer, 2021 (declined)
– Horizon 2020 – Environment and Resources: Ethics Evaluations for ‘Greendeal’ call, Executive Agency for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Ethics Expert, European Commission, 2021
Supervisions
I am interested in supervising students in the following areas:
- Decarbonisation of the road transport system through electrification (e.g. charging preferences, preferences for business models of electric-vehicle use)
- Demand for and market segmentation of alternative fuelled vehicles and car ownership studies, more generally
- Novel applications of stated preference discrete choice experiments in areas critical to public policy and decision making
- Commuting, travel satisfaction and well-being
- Land-use and transport interactions; the role of the built environment and network design on travel behaviour decisions
- Active travel
- Governance and management of public transport systems
Current supervision
Fahad Albahlal
Research student
Isabella Malet Lambert
Research student
Emma Hopkins
Research student
Aminah Abdullah
Research student
Past projects
Dr Rongqiu Song, "Understanding Public Charging Preferences of Potential and Existing Electric Vehicle Users in Great Britain", 2019 - 2024
Dr Damilola Akosile, "Understanding the links across Commuting,Travel Satisfaction and Well-being", 2016 - 2021
Dr Omar Alotaibi, "Potential Demand for Public Transport in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia", 2013 - 2017
Contact Details
+44 29208 76088
Glamorgan Building, Room 2.79, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA
Research themes
Specialisms
- Transport geography
- Transport planning
- Quantitative social science
- Active travel
- Choice modelling