Resource Allocation for Sustainable Urban Transit from a Transport Diversity Perspective

Abstract: Different transport stakeholders have different needs for transport infrastructure and services. Meeting the needs of all stakeholders implies a trade-off of benefits and costs between supply and demand and creates transport diversity issues. However, the literature has largely ignored these issues. Transport diversity can assess the level to which important needs are satisfied equitably, and monitor whether transportation systems are moving towards sustainability by confirming the targets and basic level of quality of life. Based on the concept of transport diversity, this study utilizes fuzzy multi-objective programming to solve non-linear multi-objective problems involving urban public transit systems to determine the impact of resource allocation on needs satisfaction in relation to stakeholder behaviors. The proposed approach avoids problems of inefficient and inequitable resource allocation. A real-life case is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of applying the proposed methodology. Furthermore, empirical outcomes show that recent investments allocated to public transit systems considered equitable stakeholder satisfaction for both mass rapid transit (MRT) and bus, and also promoted transport diversity in the Taipei metropolitan area.