Resilience as an imperative in public transport organisations

Abstract

This article reports on research done on resilience in urban public transport organisations. It presents the guiding principles and the framework of resilience, and the ability of public transport organisations to embed this capability. The emerging discipline of resilience studies is multidimensional and multidisciplinary. The phenomenon has been examined to present a holistic perspective on resilience through an extensive review of the literature, supplemented by empirical research in the European public transport sector. Resilience has been defined as the capacity of an organisation to survive, adapt and grow in the face of turbulent change. The literature research produced several logical conclusions, which were reviewed by using structured interviews with a selected group of specialists in this field. This made it possible to determine guiding principles, to structure the framework and to develop a unique classification of (i) the most fundamental vulnerability factors that make an organisation susceptible to disruptions; and (ii) the capability factors as attributes required for sustained performance or accomplishment. These findings are synthesised and this research establishes the ability of public transport organisations to implement a resilience approach within the boundaries of their level of advancement and prioritised direction statements.