Developing an indicator system for local governments to evaluate transport sustainability strategies

This study proposed an indicator system for measuring and monitoring transport sustainability at the county (or city) level. Twenty-one indicators were grouped into economy, environment, society, and energy aspects. A committee comprised of government officials from Taipei City and New Taipei City proposed transport solutions to improve the transport sustainability of the Taipei metropolitan area. Ten key indicators were selected to measure the sustainable transport strategies. This study applied Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to construct the cause-effect relationships between these key indicators and to evaluate sustainable transport strategies. The evaluation results showed that the strategy of expanding mass rapid transit (MRT) lines was predicted to produce the most significant improvements; the strategy of integrating bus exclusive lanes would provide the least improvement; and the strategies of promoting cleaner vehicles and integrating Fu-Kang bus resources would perform similarly to each other in improving transport sustainability. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.