Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering

Opportunities for Adopting Sustainable Transportation Modes by University Commuters through Population Survey and FAH Process

Authors:

Eltayeb H. Onsa Elsadig; Anis Ben Messaoud; Ghassan M. T. Abdalla; Abderrahim Lakhouit; Wael S. Al-Rashed; Ahmed H. A. Yassin;

Abstract:

Campus transportation is representative of citywide transportation problems, making sustainable mobility solutions more important considering rising environmental concerns and traffic congestion. This paper investigated the mobility patterns of the population of the University of Tabuk (UT) commuting to the main campus using survey data and explored the opportunities to adopt new sustainable mobility alternatives from the commuters and experts point of view. Five transportation mode alternatives are investigated and assessed through a direct survey among a considerable number of UT population. The opinion of 9 experts and decision makers is studied by applying FAHP adopting five criteria: Environment, Safety, Economy, Time and Social perception. The experts selected “Safety” as the most important criterion for the selection of a sustainable mode of transport, followed by Economy and Environment. The analysis indicates more than 86% of UT members commute with private cars. The trip duration is between 10 and 20 minutes for 70% of UT population. For almost all the alternatives, the male single students with higher trip duration are the most interested profile in sustainable transportation options. Based on the criteria weights, the FAHP results show the alternative bus from the residence to the university as the best sustainable alternative, followed by the park-and-ride intercampus bus, which was the highest-scored alternative in the campus population survey. The findings can provide a basis for developing transportation strategies for UT aimed at alleviating traffic issues and congestion in the surrounding area and enhancing environmental conditions on campus and its vicinity.

Keywords:

Fuzzy Hierarchy Decision-Making; Population survey; Sustainable transportation; Campus commuters; Mobility pattern