Sirajum Munira, Djoen San Santoso

    A sustainable city is an elusive goal without a sustainable transport network. A sustainable urban transport system balances social, economic, and environmental goals through inclusive decision-making. Public acceptability of sustainable transport measures is a challenge for developing cities such as Dhaka, where mobility to all income groups of the society needs to be ensured without hampering environmental balance and road safety condition. This paper sets out a comprehensive analysis of how people perceive different attributes of sustainability of the existing transport operation in Dhaka. Considering the unavailability of a standardized set of indicators to evaluate transport sustainability performance in Dhaka, this research identified a set of 14 subjective indicators based on an extensive literature survey and local expert opinion. The study explored a high level of user displeasure over the transport sustainability performance in the city. Travel time, women accessibility, and safety were identified as the top priority indicators in terms of user disgruntlement where cost issue generated fewer complaints. Variation of perception of different social groups have been explored to find that young, educated, and high-income respondents are the most concerned about sustainability issues. The research concluded discussing the probable acceptability or risk of a few transport policies based on the findings. The study developed a framework for investigating transport sustainability performance with subjective indicators that may assist policy makers in promoting inclusive decisions through the efficient use of resources.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2017.03.011

Date:2017.6