| Is transportation getting more sustainable? If not, would we know what to do? This component of PSUTA defines sustainable transport and describes indicators of sustainable transport, which measure the environment impacts of transport (including green-house gas emissions), the financial health of the system, safety, and access. Indicators are particularly important for developing countries because congestion, safety, air pollution, and the economic health of transport providers are usually poor. By emphasizing a quantitative analysis of factors affecting access to transportation, traffic safety and air quality, these indicators will be the foundation of the city case studies. |
The concept of sustainable transport indicators is relatively new to many policy and decision makers in developing countries, where indicators are rarely used when developing policies and regulations. The identification of indicators and the collection of the required information is simply the first step towards sustainable transport development, as the integration of indicators in policy making processes is just as crucial.
In order to illustrate why, where, and how to use indicators as a sustainable transport policy tool, a PSUTA indicator manual has been developed. The target group of this manual includes decision makers and stakeholders determined to improve urban transport. This manual begins with the concept of sustainable transport and how indicators are used to define and measure the degree of sustainability of any transport related policies.
This manual also provides a general definition of indicators and their significant role and application in transport policy development, which could be divided into several different processes:
- diagnosis
- designing the cure and the prognosis of the results
- evaluation
- rebalancing
Indicators are also an important tool for communicating and marketing of policy choices. The methodology used in formulating the indicators is further described using five major criteria, which are the accuracy, frequency, repeatability, transparency, and comparability of different indicators. These criteria must be considered when defining and developing indicators, as they affect the utility of choices, difficulty in indicators collection and the effectiveness of the product. The main categories of indicators discussed in this manual are those that cover the characteristics of the basic transport system, as well as its governance, and its environment, safety, social, and economic characteristics.
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