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Sustainable Rural Transport
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Sustainable Rural Transport

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Transportation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 23343

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Aoife Ahern

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering and Architecture, University College Dublin, D02 PN40 Dublin, Ireland
Interests: sustainable transport; transport exclusion; public transport; active transport
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are calling for papers for a Special Issue of the journal Sustainability on research into “Sustainable Rural Transport”. Provision of transport in rural areas is different and poses different problems from provision of transport in urban areas. The dispersed nature of dwellings and the ageing population often found in rural areas mean provision of public transport is particularly difficult, and so new, more innovative means of providing public transport are required. Balancing the transport needs of those living in rural areas with the need for lower levels of car use and more sustainable travel is the challenge that needs to be overcome. It is essential to ensure that those living in rural areas do not suffer from a transport disadvantage and have access to service, employment, and education, but at the same time to create sustainable options and alternatives. The editors invite papers that explore the difficulties faced in rural areas and papers that put forward solutions to these difficulties. Papers that examine both the environmental and societal impact of transport in rural areas are also welcome. Policy-oriented papers that focus on how policies can support development of sustainable rural transport services are invited. We also welcome papers that outline case studies and best practice in rural transport. Papers may also explore the impacts of transport provision on the environment and on emissions.

Prof. Aoife Ahern
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Rural transport
  • Transport disadvantage
  • Sustainable travel
  • Mobility as a service
  • Demand

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 4886 KiB  
Article
A Methodology for Planning and Prioritisation of Rural Roads in Bangladesh
by Md. Musleh Uddin Hasan, A S M Abdul Quium, Mashrur Rahman, Farzana Khatun, Mohammad Shakil Akther, Afsana Haque, Sarwar Jahan, Ishrat Islam, Tanjeeb Ahmed and Tanvir Hossain Shubho
Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2337; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042337 - 18 Feb 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4233
Abstract
Local government bodies and other concerned agencies in developing countries spend a considerable amount of money on rural road development. However, in the absence of any robust and systematic methodology, road development largely relies on ad-hoc decisions and subjective judgement of public officials. [...] Read more.
Local government bodies and other concerned agencies in developing countries spend a considerable amount of money on rural road development. However, in the absence of any robust and systematic methodology, road development largely relies on ad-hoc decisions and subjective judgement of public officials. Such a decision-making process often leads to inefficient resource allocation bypassing equity and long-term societal benefits. Although there are some established methodologies for road network planning, complexities exist in applying those methods. First, most of the established methods are not suitable for rural road development, particularly regarding the volume and nature of traffic on them. Second, some methods are highly complex and lack practical applicability. Third, road development planning should not be top-down alone but ensure the participation of local stakeholders. Given these limitations, this study proposes a methodology—Rural Road Planning and Prioritisation Model (RPPM). It consists of two major components (i) developing a core network in participation with local stakeholders and (ii) prioritisation of roads based on Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA). The proposed method is piloted in one district, and a web-based software is also developed for practical implementation by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), Bangladesh. The paper also discusses the results of the pilot study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Transport)
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17 pages, 294 KiB  
Article
Shared Mobility in Rural Contexts: Organizational Insights from Five Mobility-as-a-Service Pilots in Sweden
by Åsa Hult, Liisa Perjo and Göran Smith
Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10134; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810134 - 10 Sep 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3654
Abstract
Despite a growing interest in using Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) as a tool to address rural transport problems, the question of how to organize such a concept remains unanswered. To address this knowledge gap, this article explores organizational elements of rural MaaS pilots. The analysis, [...] Read more.
Despite a growing interest in using Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) as a tool to address rural transport problems, the question of how to organize such a concept remains unanswered. To address this knowledge gap, this article explores organizational elements of rural MaaS pilots. The analysis, which is based on participatory observation and interviews with actors involved in five pilots in rural areas of Sweden, reveals that the motives of the actors involved in rural MaaS both overlap with and diverge from the frequently stated objectives of urban MaaS developments. Both concepts center on complementing and extending public transport, but while urban MaaS is underpinned by the fight against climate change, congestion, and local pollution, the main objective of rural MaaS is to reduce transport poverty. The analysis, moreover, illustrates that despite the geographic differences, actors involved in rural MaaS pilots face similar organizational challenges as have been reported from urban MaaS developments. In both cases, actors struggle with finding their roles, mitigating uncertainties, distributing responsibilities, and negotiating business models. Finally, the analysis finds that rural MaaS puts higher expectations on user involvement than urban MaaS and identifies a risk that rural MaaS developments might contribute to spatial injustice since the studied pilots only supported rural communities with high social capital. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Transport)
23 pages, 4621 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Risk Management of Rural Road Networks Exposed to Natural Hazards: Application to Volcanic Lahars in Chile
by Alondra Chamorro, Tomás Echaveguren, Eduardo Allen, Marta Contreras, Joaquín Dagá, Hernan de Solminihac and Luis E. Lara
Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6774; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176774 - 20 Aug 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3754
Abstract
Natural hazards may temporarily or permanently interrupt the normal operation of rural road networks. The potential social, economic, environmental and physical impacts of natural events on rural road infrastructures empirically evidence the need to incorporate a sustainable risk approach to manage rural road [...] Read more.
Natural hazards may temporarily or permanently interrupt the normal operation of rural road networks. The potential social, economic, environmental and physical impacts of natural events on rural road infrastructures empirically evidence the need to incorporate a sustainable risk approach to manage rural road networks exposed to natural hazards. Available risk management systems are applied to major networks emphasizing the physical risk of road infrastructure in terms of expected economic losses and travel time delays, without considering a systemic approach and other dimensions of risk, such as social vulnerability and the consequent socio-economic effects. The study proposes a sustainable risk management framework for rural roads that accounts for the social vulnerability of rural population, the physical vulnerability of rural roads and the environmental context in terms of natural hazards. The proposed framework is applicable to rural road networks exposed to major natural events that permanently or temporarily disrupt accessibility and mobility in the system. A case study is selected from a developing country, due to the socio-economic condition of the rural population and high vulnerability in the context of natural events. The proposed risk management framework is scaled at the network level rather than an element based analysis, or project level approach, considering the interdependencies between road links, the variability of road infrastructure types in the rural context, and the impacts on network accessibility and mobility due to natural events. The proposed framework is applied to a rural road network exposed to volcanic hazard, specifically lahar flows that are usually the most recurrent and disruptive process in terms of road infrastructure. Outcomes demonstrate that rural population present high social vulnerability levels, resulting in a slower recovery when exposed to the effects of infrastructure disruptions. Therefore, considering social vulnerability under a sustainable risk management approach depicts the sustainable role of rural road networks, which commonly are managed only under a physical vulnerability perspective. The proposed methodology will allow road agencies and municipalities to design sustainable mitigation and recovery strategies by incorporating dimensions such as social vulnerability, probability of failure of road links and their impacts on road accessibility and mobility due to natural hazards. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Transport)
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20 pages, 6586 KiB  
Article
Voice Assistant and Route Optimization System for Logistics Companies in Depopulated Rural Areas
by Álvaro Lozano Murciego, Diego M. Jiménez-Bravo, Denis Pato Martínez, Adrián Valera Román and Gabino Luis Lazo
Sustainability 2020, 12(13), 5377; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135377 - 3 Jul 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4509
Abstract
Nowadays, the depopulation of Europe’s rural areas and the ageing of the population in these areas has led to the disappearance of basic services such as supermarkets, fishmongers, household goods, etc. In response to this problem, there are European and local initiatives to [...] Read more.
Nowadays, the depopulation of Europe’s rural areas and the ageing of the population in these areas has led to the disappearance of basic services such as supermarkets, fishmongers, household goods, etc. In response to this problem, there are European and local initiatives to mitigate these effects by investing in Internet and Communication Technologies (ICT) infrastructure and logistics services for these areas with the aim of moving services to these isolated areas. The problem with these services lies in the difficulty of the use of ICT by aged people due to digital divide and, at the same time, the high cost in human resources, time, vehicles, and fuel presented by delivery services in these areas. This work presents a system that combines the use of intelligent personal assistants (IPA) to facilitate access to information technology for aged people to place orders and the optimization of delivery routes in a rural environment by a socially-oriented logistics company. This work presents a case study based on the fixed delivery routes of a social logistics company and describes how the proposed system could help in the optimization of routes and the reception of orders by the elderly via ICTs thanks to the use of IPAs. Subsequent to the study, route cost savings have been observed as well as the homogeneity of the cost of the routes it can provide compared to a static and predefined fixed route planning. This study also shows how the IPAs make possible the reception of orders in real time placed by the older adults from their homes. This work is aimed at improving the sustainability of services in depopulated rural areas while saving costs for the logistics companies that perform these services. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Transport)
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Review

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26 pages, 4734 KiB  
Review
Road Trauma in Regional and Remote Australia and New Zealand in Preparedness for ADAS Technologies and Autonomous Vehicles
by Sujanie Peiris, Janneke Berecki-Gisolf, Bernard Chen and Brian Fildes
Sustainability 2020, 12(11), 4347; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114347 - 26 May 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5010
Abstract
Achieving remote and rural road safety is a global challenge, exacerbated in Australia and New Zealand by expansive geographical variations and inconsistent population density. Consequently, there exists a rural-urban differential in road crash involvement in Australasia. New vehicle technologies are expected to minimise [...] Read more.
Achieving remote and rural road safety is a global challenge, exacerbated in Australia and New Zealand by expansive geographical variations and inconsistent population density. Consequently, there exists a rural-urban differential in road crash involvement in Australasia. New vehicle technologies are expected to minimise road trauma globally by performing optimally on high quality roads with predictable infrastructure. Anecdotally, however, Australasia’s regional and remote areas do not fit this profile. The aim of this study was to determine if new vehicle technologies are likely to reduce road trauma, particularly in regional and remote Australia and New Zealand. An extensive review was performed using publicly available data. Road trauma in regional and remote Australasia was found to be double that of urban regions, despite the population being approximately one third of that in urban areas. Fatalities in 100 km/h + speed zones were overrepresented, suggestive of poor speed limit settings. Despite new vehicle ownership in regional and remote Australasia being comparable to major cities, road infrastructure supportive of new vehicle technologies appear lacking, with only 1.3–42% of all Australian roads, and 67% of all New Zealand roads being fully sealed. With road quality in regional and remote areas being poorly mapped, the benefits of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) technologies cannot be realised despite the fact new vehicles with these technologies are penetrating the fleet. Investments should be made into sealing and separating roads but more importantly, for mapping the road network to create a unified tracking system which quantifies readiness at a national level. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Rural Transport)
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