Transport and Logistics Performance Assessment: Beyond the Conventional Approach

Abstract

Assessment of transport projects and policies is traditionally performed by means of conventional approaches, such as the cost-benefit or multicriteria analyses. However, these methods are complex and unable to incorporate the multifaceted perspectives that transport planning and governance require. For this reason, simpler and more tailored methods to evaluate specific transport solutions are being pursued. This paper explores the potential of index-based methods to assess sectorial transport policy and innovations. The focus is put on the environmental, social, and operational performances. The distribution of goods using public transport means, also known as freight-on-transit (FOT), is used as a case study, to be assessed by means of appropriate indexes. Benefits and trade-offs compared to traditional evaluation methods are highlighted. Moreover, generalized guidelines for the definition of appropriate sets of indexes are provided, starting from the application within the FOT framework.