Abstract
The increasing global focus on sustainability is bringing the question of the sustainability of transport systems—which are still exhibiting numerous negative effects as evidence of their unsustainability—to the fore. While sustainability is an often-discussed concept, tools to guide the practical implementation thereof are limited. This paper presents a framework for an inventory of indicators against which to measure the sustainability of transport systems. While the framework is validated for urban transport systems for increased mobility (here referenced as microtransit systems), the concept is investigated in the context of transport systems in general. A systematic review of the literature was used to develop a framework of 12 areas and 50 indicators of sustainability. Expert reviews, an Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP), and an Equally Weighted Average (EWA) method were employed to allocate weights to the indicators and to validate the framework for microtransit systems. The framework contributes to the literature by identifying, categorizing, and integrating concepts related to sustainability in transport systems. It is intended to aid short-term decision-making in the design of urban transport systems, to continuously monitor the long-term progress of transport systems against sustainability goals, and to guide policy development. Future work would include enhanced empirical validation of the framework in the context of other types of transport systems, beyond microtransit.
Highlights
Transport is considered indispensable for human existence, development, and civilization [1], and is regarded as one of the primary facilitators of trade-based economic growth by connecting people to resources and markets [2]
Since the systematic literature review formed an integral part of the process of indicator development, it is reported as part of the Stage 1 results
A wide variety of indicators related to the triple bottom line has been developed and utilized for the evaluation of transport systems [7,9,10,28,32,62,63,64]
Summary
Transport is considered indispensable for human existence, development, and civilization [1], and is regarded as one of the primary facilitators of trade-based economic growth by connecting people to resources and markets [2]. ‘Smart mobility’ modes of transport are increasingly emerging through technological advancements in ICTs, including intelligent transport systems (ITS) [18,19], shared mobility [20,21], and microtransit systems [22,23,24] These initiatives challenge the traditional transport system concepts and support the claims that global economic sustainability cannot be accomplished sufficiently through incremental improvements in current transport systems [22,25,26]. A key characteristic is the ability to connect supply and demand through the use of ICTs, in a demand-responsive manner, and often with a focus on ’first-and-last-mile’ transit Despite these technologically driven attempts at improving the sustainability of transport systems, problems persist in practice. The AHP was identified as a method that is commonly used [53]
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