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

Abstract

Transportation plays a key role in urban sustainability planning and urban greenhouse gas emission reductions. Globally, cities have established sustainability agendas and policies to guide the shift from traditional private automobile dependent transportation systems towards an increased use of public transportation, cycling, and walking. While the surrounding physical urban form and governance structures condition public transportation services, there are also many other factors to consider when discussing sustainability. As such, comprehensive planning and policy-oriented assessment frameworks that are independent of local conditions are still largely missing in literature. This paper presents a Public Transportation Sustainability Indicator List (PTSIL) that provides a platform for an integrated assessment of environmental, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability through an indicator-based approach. To demonstrate its use, the PTSIL is applied to analyze the policy documents of public transportation agencies in Helsinki, Finland, and Toronto, Canada. The results show that while both cities achieve relatively high scores in all dimensions, there is still high variability among individual indicators. The PTSIL presents a missed stepping stone between descriptive definitions of transportation sustainability and case specific sustainability performance assessments, offering an opportunity within the planning and policy-making sectors to review, assess, and develop public transportation services comprehensively.

System Dynamics Modeling and Fuzzy MCDM Approach as Support for Assessment of Sustainability Management on the Example of Transport Sector Company

“…There are studies that employ fewer indicators to assess transport sustainability. Another set of indicators has been considered for the assessment of transport sustainability, considering various systems such as freight transport on a national scale [25][26][27], road transport [28], urban transport [29,30], transport infrastructure projects [31,32], particular modes of transport [33,34], public transport [26], road and rail systems on a local scale [35], and inland transport on a local scale [24,31,36]. Additionally, a few indicators regarding roads and railways have also been employed to evaluate the sustainability of these systems [37].…”

Sustainable Urban Transportation Criteria and Measurement—A Systematic Literature Review

“…Travel time is described mainly as commuting time [36] and the time to reach the next public transportation hub (e.g., [12]). Accessibility is described as the share of the population living less than 500 m away from the next public transportation hub [36] and measures the distance between public transportation stops and residential areas [84]. Accessibility can also be specified in relation to disabled and elderly people [72].…”

GIS and Auto Desk modeling for Satellite Cities around Bhubaneswar

“…Sorensen A, 2001 [4] studying the growth of Tokyo city, has reported development of polycentrism through sub-centers or satellite cities successful to provide benefits of the old rural fabric. Karjalainen L. E. et al, 2019 [5], Transportation plays pivotal role in planning metropolis sustainability and management of urban GHG reductions. By use of shared transportation, cycling, and walking.…”