Development of a tool to assess urban transport sustainability: The case of Swedish cities

Framework for Assessing Public Transportation Sustainability in Planning and Policy-Making

“…Designed independently of pre-existing local conditions and data availability issues, it can be applied in both external assessments, as presented here, and to review, assess, and develop policies and practices in internal processes within the public transportation sector. As recognized by e.g., Olofsson et al [17], the planning and decision-making sectors require more applicable and supportive tools and methods to assess, monitor, and guide their processes towards a more comprehensive and inclusive view of sustainability. The PTSIL thus bridges the gap between descriptive definitions of transportation sustainability (e.g., European Union Council of Transport Ministers' statement) and case specific sustainability performance assessments within the public transportation sector, by providing a comprehensive platform for assessments that does not limit the use of, for example, social sustainability indicators.…”

“…Moreover, policy-oriented research tends to focus on urban transportation planning and policy as a whole, and not solely on public transportation. In Sweden, a sustainability assessment tool was co-created in close collaboration between local practitioners and researchers [17]. The needs of the planners were identified in interviews and the tool was adjusted to match the national transport policy goals, while additionally, qualitative aspects, such as passenger perceptions of the transportation system, were included [17].…”

“…In Sweden, a sustainability assessment tool was co-created in close collaboration between local practitioners and researchers [17]. The needs of the planners were identified in interviews and the tool was adjusted to match the national transport policy goals, while additionally, qualitative aspects, such as passenger perceptions of the transportation system, were included [17]. Marsden et al [13] base their initial indicator selection process on reviewed literature, yet the final indicator set is selected through expert panel discussions and in relation to national policy targets in the UK.…”

“…Despite a global boost in urban transportation sustainability policies [2], comprehensive and integrated methodologies to assess and characterize the sustainability of transportation systems, and furthermore, public transportation services, are still largely missing in literature, as also recognized by Marsden et al [13], Miller et al [14], De Gruyter et al [15], and Litman [16]. Data limitations and case specific contexts limit holistic sustainability assessments and the use of diverse indicators (e.g., Reference [15,16]), and a need for comprehensive and applicable assessment frameworks and tools that aid the planning and decision-making processes is identified in literature (e.g., Reference [13,17]).…”

Review of methods and indicators in sustainable urban transport studies overview from 2000 to 2016

“…This method is used by researchers to discuss the formulation of transportation policy which aims at realizing SUT program through analysis framework [10]; [11], [12] and investigate the application of the SUT from its institutional system and explain the factors that cause incompatibility [13].…”