A composite index for assessing sustainability of urban transport interventions
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Sustainable development is recognized as a global priority. The externalities imposed by the transport sector on the environment and society can be addressed through the implementation of various sustainable development strategies. This research proposes a methodological framework for assessing the impact of sustainable urban transportation interventions using 29 Sustainable Transport Indicators (STIs), defined under three main pillars of sustainability (environment, social and economic). While some indicators (vehicle kilometres travelled, mode share, average trip length) are output variables from the conventional four-stage Travel Demand Model (TDM), some (vehicular emissions, fuel consumption) are estimated using TDM outputs and a few (vehicle ownership, drunk driving cases) are collected through secondary sources. The intended framework is explained using Bangalore Metropolitan Region as a case study. Initially, the data is modelled and analyzed for the base year (2022) and target year (2031). Later, scenario analysis is carried out to compare the results between Business-As-Usual (BAU) 2031 and Sustainable Transport (ST) 2031 scenarios. Two potential sustainable development strategies are tested in the ST scenario: (1) Metro Rail Project 2031 (317 km), (2) Bus Priority Corridors and Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) Infrastructure 2031 (149 km). Finally, the indicators are normalized, weighted and linearly aggregated to develop the Composite Sustainable Transportation Index and compare sustainability progress for BAU and ST scenarios. The results explain that significant progress towards sustainable development can be attained in all three pillars of sustainability by focusing on urban transport interventions such as advancing metro network coverage, enforcing bus priority corridors and enhancing NMT infrastructure.
Institution: Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
Language: English
Subfield: Transportation
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4409984716