Indicator based assessment for sustainability benefits of urban light rail transport

The common perception about the real sustainability benefits of the urban mass transport system are still poorly understood, especially in terms of how to quantify the determining indicators in specific and empirical terms to measure the extent of these benefits. Sustainability evaluation and enhancement can be accomplished in a scientific, reasonable and logical manner within the general planning paradigm as the beginning of improving progress toward sustainability development. Indicators such as travel time (timesaving), affordability, accessibility, employment, safety, congestion, modal shift, urban regeneration, air pollutant emissions, e.t.c. The research objective is to assess the sustainability (economic, social and environmental) development benefits of the Abuja urban light rail transport system. The research methods used are the questionnaire survey and experimental analysis. The data collected from the questionnaire based on the ranking of indicators, is analysed quantitatively, using the descriptive statistics tools of excel, describing the rankings by the experts and stakeholders for their required rank score. The experiments performed were for the road and rail modes of transport along the same route. The concepts of the conceptual framework of the sustainability diamond and multicriteria assessment are used in this research to compare transport route alternatives of the rail and their corresponding road routes, measuring the timesaving as an economic sustainability benefit. Analyses here revealed how the economic measurement indicator, i.e. timesaving, which was selected as the most ranked indicator that results into different empirical rate or level of contribution to sustainability benefit, thus answering the question, how are the Sustainability benefits of the urban light rail system assessed. Based on the concepts of sustainability diamond and multicriteria assessment, this research approach selects a set of nine indicators from economic, social and environmental sustainability, based on highest common factor as used in the literature, especially as it relates to its applicability in a developing country. These selected nine indicators are scored by ranking, based on the most significant approach, by the participatory selection of experts. Thus, the first indicator with the highest rank scores amongst the selected is used for the quantitative assessment to empirically determine its level of sustainability benefit using geo-information system and quantification calculus approach. The main findings show that Lot 1A along Kubwa to Idu rail route stations is faster as compared to the road route between the same locations by 8.4 minutes at off-peak hours and 38.4 minutes at peak hours. Lot 3A along Idu to Abuja metro route stations is less faster as compared to the road route between the same two locations by 1.6 minutes during the off-peak hours but faster by 28.4 minutes at peak hours. Lot 3B along Idu to Airport route stations is faster as compared to the road route between the same locations by 18.4 minutes during the off-peak period and 48.4 minutes during peak period. Another interesting finding is that lot 3A gave a negative number of (-1.6minutes) during the off-peak hours. This can be taken into cognisance for further perceptions and re-planning, as a rail at 100km/hr compared to 75km/hr is ordinarily meant to get a commuter to its destination faster at peak or off-peak hours of the same route. Therefore, the description in empirical terms the number of minutes gained or lost during the peak and off-peak periods provides precise answers to the research question on how the sustainability benefits of the urban light rail system on timesaving can be assessed. This is required to know in specific terms, to what extent a particular sustainability indicator will benefit an urban city when a rail transport infrastructure is provided. In generating empirical and valid levels of benefit to sustainability development, the newly developed approach using the Geo-Information System (GIS) approach for the timesaving indicator, has shown to be capable of reliable assessment, through the integration with the conceptual framework to empirically ascertain the assessment of the sustainability benefits of the Abuja light rail. Thus, adding a new niche to the body of knowledge of the subject matter.