Sustainable Transportation in Saudi Arabia: Reducing Barriers and Choosing Values

Abstract

One of the main barriers to achieving a sustainable transportation system in Saudi Arabia is low petrol prices that make public transport an undesirable travel option in the country. The private vehicle is very much a cost-effective means of transportation within the region and will remain so for some time to come. It is very important, therefore, to investigate factors that affect travel behaviour and travel decisions in Saudi Arabia and to investigate attitudes to sustainability in order to devise the right policies to aim for sustainability. It is also important to raise awareness about environmental problems, about the impact of traffic on sustainability and about the role of public transport in achieving this sustainability. The aim of this paper is to investigate the level of awareness of sustainability in Tabuk city in Saudi Arabia and to assess attitudes and preferences towards measures and policies that aim to achieve sustainability. The paper makes a contribution to our understanding of transport attitudes and transport behaviour in Saudi Arabia within the framework of the sustainability issues and with reference to critical gender particularities of the case location.