AESTHETIC APPROACH TO GREEN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING IN TOURISM WITH DESIGN FACTORS

Abstract

Green transportation technology has become a new paradigm in transportation engineering fields over the whole world. Most attention, however, has been paid to mitigate greenhouse gases or energy consumption, seldom reported pro-environment design in aesthetic aspect. It is well known that a proper design of train enhances traveler satisfaction and contributes to demand increase in public transportation. Hence, aesthetic factors should be considered significantly. However, a difficult problem for reflecting aesthetic aspect is that there is no clear design standard for railway to reflect aesthetic features. This paper aims to suggest aesthetic factors to be guidance of rail transit planning in tourist attractions. We begin by defining a term ‘aesthetic in railway system’ based on literature and empirical review. In this paper, the definition is divided into two complementary views: (I) Sight-seeing mechanism from inside to outside. (II) Vehicle exterior design harmonized with surrounding environment. Based on the definitions, design factors are suggested: window size, speed, routes, type of track, color, and size of train system. Each factor is explained with its standard. A result of evaluating rail transit with the factors shows that wireless tram is the most suitable transit for tourism. Limitations and improvements of the study are also suggested.