A Rational Decision-Making Process with Public Engagement for Designing Public Transport Services: A Real Case Application in Italy

Armando Cartenì, Luca D’Acierno and Mariano Gallo
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Armando Cartenì: Department of Engineering, University of Campania, via Roma 29, 81031 Aversa (CE), Italy
Luca D’Acierno: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Federico II University of Naples, via Claudio 21, 80125 Naples, Italy
Mariano Gallo: Department of Engineering, University of Sannio, piazza Roma 21, 82100 Benevento, Italy
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Luca D'Acierno

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 16, 1-26

Abstract: The sustainable design of public transport services is a crucial issue that may affect the economy of local areas and the social inclusion of their inhabitants. Indeed, transport accessibility of households, businesses, and retail activities is one of the main drivers that influence location choices and sustainable development and where the public transport services may play a key (positive) role. Furthermore, the economic crisis of the 2009 and the current ones caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has further limited the funds available for public services, including the transport sector. In this critical context, sound design of public transport services assumes great importance, especially in light of financial constraints. Starting from these considerations, the aim of this paper has been to propose an innovative methodology for designing public transport services based on a rational decision-making process with stakeholder engagement, aiming to perform a sustainable development perspective. The proposed methodology combines technical aspects, social and political issues, equity perspectives, and it is aimed in obtaining a design solution that can be accepted by the whole community. The proposed theoretical design methodology has also been applied to a case study in order to verify its applicability to a real context, consisting of the design of the public transport plan of the province of Foggia in southern Italy. Applications results show that the sustainable design scenario is not only the best ones from a technical point of view, but also participated, equitable, and approved by both policymakers and stakeholders.

Keywords: local public transport; network and services design; public engagement; equitable resource allocation; sustainable mobility; transport quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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