Integrated modelling for sustainability assessment and decision making of alternative fuel buses

In this paper, a hybrid life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) model integrating multi region input-output analysis with novel multi-criteria decision-making techniques is proposed to assess three different fuel alternatives: compressed natural gas (CNG), electric buses (EBs), and diesel buses (DBs). A global hybrid LCSA model first quantified the environmental, economic, and social impacts of alternative fuel buses. The results were investigated in terms of multiple combinations of manufacturing and end-of-life scenarios by encompassing impacts embedded in the global supply chains taking Qatar as a case applied to the proposed model. The Interval-Valued Neutrosophic Fuzzy (IVNF)-Analytic Hierarchy Process with the Combined Compromise Solution (CoCoSo) approach is used to rank the alternative fuel buses based on their corresponding sustainability performance. The proposed model will help in quantitatively capturing the macro level life cycle socioeconomic and environmental impacts along with optimally selecting alternatives to support sustainable urban transport policy towards a net-zero transportation system globally.

Automated summary

This paper proposes a hybrid life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) model that combines multi-region input-output analysis with novel multi-criteria decision-making techniques to assess different fuel alternatives: compressed natural gas (CNG), electric buses (EBs), and diesel buses (DBs). The model quantifies the environmental, economic, and social impacts of these alternatives and ranks them based on their sustainability performance using the Interval-Valued Neutrosophic Fuzzy (IVNF)-Analytic Hierarchy Process with the Combined Compromise Solution (CoCoSo) approach. The proposed model captures macro level life cycle socioeconomic and environmental impacts and helps in selecting alternatives to support sustainable urban transport policy.