Impact of transport policies to commuter safety in urban cities of a developing country: A sustainability and system perspective

Accident-related deaths are a major problem in road transportation, especially in developing countries. Despite the legislation, death statistics continue to increase annually. This study aimed to assess transport policies that promote a reduction in road deaths in Metro Cebu, Philippines. A conceptual model is proposed to characterize the transportation system, with sustainability dimensions as its framework. System dynamics modeling was used to simulate the influence of three transport policies on the number of road deaths, and regression analysis was used to mathematically represent the behavior of the system. The results indicated that increasing the number of newly hired traffic enforcers, along with dynamic vehicle operation restrictions, resulted in a considerable reduction in road deaths. However, increasing the annual budget for road maintenance only showed minimal improvements. The findings of this study provide insights for policymakers on how to better manage the dynamic behavior of the transportation system while ensuring the safety of the community.