The estimation of a driving cycle for Celje and a comparison to other European cities

•Driving cycle measurements.•Estimation of vehicular driving patterns in the Slovenian city of Celje.•Comparison with the driving cycles of other cities in Europe.

Due to rapidly increasing numbers of vehicles, growing traffic congestion and the very limited use of emission control strategies, motor vehicles are emerging as the largest source of urban air pollution globally. The effectiveness of any control strategy depends on accurate emission models. This study is an attempt to estimate vehicular driving patterns in the Slovenian city of Celje. Using the TangoGPS program for measuring important driving parameters while a vehicle is in motion in traffic, the urban driving cycle of this small city is estimated and then compared with the driving cycles of other cities in Europe. As predicted and demonstrated in the present paper the average speed of vehicles in smaller cities is higher than in larger ones.