Green transport hierarchy

Green transport hierarchy
Pedestrians
Bicycles
Public transit
Trucks and commercial vehicles
Taxis
High occupancy vehicles
Cars and single occupancy vehicles

The green transport hierarchy (Canada), also called mobility pyramid, reverse traffic pyramid, street user hierarchy (US), sustainable transport hierarchy (Wales), urban transport hierarchy or road user hierarchy (Australia, UK) is a hierarchy of modes of passenger transport prioritising green transport. It is a concept used in transport reform groups worldwide and in policy design. The UK Highway Code has a road user hierarchy prioritising pedestrians. It is a key characteristic of Australian transport planning.

History

The Green Transportation Hierarchy: A Guide for Personal & Public Decision-Making by Chris Bradshaw was first published September 1994. As part of a pedestrian advocacy group in the United States, he proposed the hierarchy ranking passenger transport based on environmental emissions. The reviewed ranking listed, in order: walking, cycling, public transport, car sharing, and finally private car.

It was first prepared for Ottawalk and the Transportation Working Committee of the Ottawa-Carleton Round-table on the Environment in January 1992, only stating 'Walk, Cycle, Bus, Truck, Car'.

Factors

Infographic claiming that the mobility pyramid is important for the mobility transition
  1. Mode
  2. Energy source
  3. Trip length
  4. Trip speed
  5. Vehicle size
  6. Passenger load factor
  7. Trip segment
  8. Trip purpose
  9. Traveller

Adoption

Chris Bradshaw directed the hierarchy at both individual lifestyle choices and public authorities who should officially direct their resources – funds, moral suasion, and formal sanctions – based on the factors.

Bradshaw described the hierarchy to be logical, but the effect of applying it to seem radical.

Bradshaw introduced the concept of the green transportation hierarchy, which ranks mobility modes based on their sustainability. In this hierarchy, walking and cycling are prioritized as the most sustainable forms of transport, followed by public transit, while driving a private car is placed at the bottom.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Reid, Carlton. "Car Dependency Must End, Transport Minister Lee Waters Tells Welsh Parliament". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  2. ↑ Walking, Riding and Access to Public Transport: Draft report for discussion (PDF). Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. October 2012. ISBN 978-1-921769-90-0. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-07-08.
  3. 1 2 "Practices and policies of green urban transport in China" (PDF). Journeys (Berghahn Books). 1 (4): 26–35. 2010.
  4. ↑ "Pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility in Europe /". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  5. ↑ Fischer, Edward L; International Scanning Study Team (U.S.), FHWA International Technology Scanning Program; United States; Federal Highway Administration; Office of International Programs; American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials; American Trade Initiatives, Inc (2010). Pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility in Europe. Washington, DC: Office of International Programs, U.S. Federal Highway Administration. OCLC 537680874. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2021-11-06. {{cite book}}: |first7= has generic name (help)
  6. ↑ Zhenqi, Chen; Weichi, Lu (2016-11-09), "Toward a Green Transport System: A Review of Non-technical Methodologies for Developing Cities", Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 509–520, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-38789-5_59, ISBN 978-3-319-38787-1, retrieved 2023-12-05
  7. ↑ "The Highway Code - Introduction - Guidance - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2025-06-16.
  8. ↑ "2. Key characteristics of active travel". Australian Transport Assessment and Planning. Archived from the original on 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  9. ↑ Yang, Jiawen; Alterman, Rachelle; Li, Bin (2020). "References". Value Capture Beyond Public Land Leasing. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy: 45–49. Archived from the original on 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  10. ↑ "The Valuing of Trips - Transportation - Sierra Club". vault.sierraclub.org. Archived from the original on 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2021-05-12.
  11. ↑ see a separate paper by the author, ‘Using Our Feet to Reduce Our Footprint: The Importance of Scale in Life’ (1997) for the ‘NRFUT’ system of comparing the ‘footprint’ of different trips.
  12. ↑ Bergman, Zinette (2020). Mobility as Agency: Perspectives from South Africa, China, and the United States (PhD thesis). University of the Witwatersrand. p. 5–6.