Sustainable Planning, Management and Economics in Transport

Dear Colleagues,

The mobility of societies and the economic growth of regions have been linked to the availability of means of transport and to their combination and coordination. Especially during the last few decades, the continuing trend of market globalization, technological modernization, and regions’ urbanization has led either to the consolidation of routes or to the expansion of corridors, both on an intercontinental and international scope and on a national, regional, and local scale. It is noteworthy that the decisions on new routes or rerouting are often too complicated, coinciding with a strong impetus for any change provided by the onset of the industrial era. Therefore, while the phenomenon of intermodality played an increasingly prominent role in transport activities, each mode reached higher levels of speed, flexibility, and technical efficiency, in stark contrast to the inertias that had existed in the characteristic transport system of the pre-industrial era.

Transport plays a crucial role in economic and social development, and its contribution goes beyond what is normally captured in traditional cost–benefit analyses. The future of transport in the last century depended on efficient and easy intermodal mobility to improve regional accessibility by providing connectivity. The European Commission recognizes this, and its transport policy focuses on the intermodal transport, which is seen as a sustainable mobility solution, environmentally friendly and efficient in terms of resources and overall cost. This essentially impacts the funding of new transportation infrastructures that could have large long-term economic, social, and environmental impacts.

The main objectives of this Special Issue address the innovation in strategic planning, business development, and economic contribution specifically related to transport and supply chain. The focus is on the sustainable development applicability and compatibility and the advantages of developing intermodal transport and supporting investments for new infrastructure projects. Special attention is given to decision making for new investments and project financing in infrastructures to promote sustainability and business resilience. The discussion agenda includes analysis of the implications on the quality and cost of the supply chain.

Consequently, the key topics of the conference cover the following areas:

• Modeling and tools in transportation planning and management
• Competition, cooperation, groups/associations/alliances
• Government involvement and public consultation
• Corporate strategy, management, and performance
• Infrastructure added value, and wider economic effects
• Best practices in intelligent transportation
• Interactions between transportation and tourism, trade and energy
• Mobility as a service and transport system governance
• Decision support methodologies and systems
• Innovation in planning, management and economics in transport

It is highlighted that we invite researchers and professionals to submit case studies, best practices, and notable applications in transport sustainable development and its aspects in:

• Environment protection and sustainable development
• Infrastructure investment economic footprint
• Impact on the business eco-system and regional development
• Transport economics and management performance evaluation
• Operational research and data use intelligence

The Special Issue accepts both regular papers and papers from the "2nd International Conference: “Intermodal Transports: Innovations in Planning, Management, Business Development & Decision Making" that will be held on 12–13 March 2020, at Alexandroupolis, Greece, organized by the Department of Economics, Democritus University of Thrace.

Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Dimitriou
Guest Editor

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