Evaluation of sustainable transport research in 2000–2019

Abstract

The transport sector has extensive environmental, social and economic impacts on society and thus it is imperative for this sector to embrace the concept of sustainable development. Since 2000, a significant number of sustainable transport research outcomes have been published. The objectives of this study are to identify the hot research topics, explore knowledge gaps and recommend future directions in the domain of sustainable transport through a holistic review of the literature published in 2000–2019. A total of 882 bibliometric records of journal articles were searched from the Web of Science core collection database. Both quantitative scientometric analysis and qualitative discussion were undertaken to analyse the sustainable transport research. The analysis results showed nine hot research topics: 1) sustainable transport indicators and performance model, 2) sustainable transport policy, 3) involvement of stakeholders, 4) supply chain and logistics management, 5) environmental impact, 6) travel behaviour, 7) new fuels for vehicles, 8) transport strategic planning, and 9) bicycle and public transport. In addition, four knowledge gaps were identified relating to social sustainability of transport, use of information and communication technology, sustainability benefits, and resilient transport to deliver sustainability. Furthermore, future research directions were proposed to bridge these knowledge gaps. This review focuses on the journal articles in English only and may overlook some significant research published in other languages and conferences. Nevertheless, this study still benefits academics, industry practitioners and policy makers by providing an understanding of status quo, hot research topics, knowledge gaps and future research directions in the domain of sustainable transport.