Multi-Criteria Sustainability Assessment in Transport Planning for Recreational Travel

ABSTRACT

A transport planning framework is considered that incorporates a multi-criteria, composite sustainability index (CSI) with elastic decision-maker preferences, and applied to a case study of an outdoor recreational destination. A stated preference survey is conducted on transit alternatives to access the United States. Mojave National Preserve from Barstow, California, located 160 kilometers away. A binary logit model is developed to relate policy variables to sustainability dimensions. A revised CSI is applied to evaluate eight alternatives under three decision-making schemes. Findings suggest that a zero-emissions train service with two round trips per day is preferred over the other alternatives under all three schemes.

Key Words:

• composite sustainability index
• multi-criteria decision-making
• outdoor recreation
• transport planning

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank Seth Shteir at the National Parks Conservation Association and the U.S. National Park Service for sponsoring us on the “Sustainable Transit Feasibility Study for the Mojave National Preserve,” Study No. MOJA-00223. Helpful comments from five anonymous reviewers are gratefully acknowledged. The contents of this paper reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of NPCA or NPS. This paper does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

Notes

*MNP = Mojave National Preserve.

^a Capital Costs include rolling stock only (capital costs are based on equivalent per milecosts from NTD).

^b Bus is assumed to operate as a Direct Operations (i.e., run by the park service).

^c Train is assumed to be operated as Purchased transportation (i.e., run by rail operator Amtrak).

^d MTCE = Metric tons carbon equivalent.

^a Capital Costs include rolling stock only (capital costs are based on equivalent per mile costs from NTD).

^b Bus is assumed to operate as a Direct Operations (i.e., run by the park service).

^c Train is assumed to be operated as Purchased transportation (i.e., run by rail operator Amtrak).

^d Clean vehicle costs are three times higher than traditional (Patil et al. 2010).

^e MTCE = Metric tons carbon equivalent.

*CO₂ Emissions are not currently regulated by EPA.

^a Alternatives: Green (G) or Diesel (D); Bus (B) or Train (T); 2x/day (2) or 4x/day (4) (e.g., GB2 = Green Bus 2x/day).