Article in Journal of Sustainability Science and Management · April 019 citations 11 reads 1,581 authors: Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects

Introduction 
 
Improving the utilization of public transport 
is particularly important in fulfilling social 
mobility obligations, lessening the negative 
impact of a large number of privateautomobiles 
and ensuring sustainable transportation (Bouf 
& Hensher 2007). Sustainable transportation 
can minimize a city or country’s contribution 
to negative environmental, social and climate- 
change effects (Miralles-Guasch & Domene, 
2010). 
It depends on the type of vehicles on the 
road, their energy source, and infrastructure to 
accommodate the needs of a given society. The 
transport sector is one of the highest Greenhouse 
Gas (GHG) emitters compared to other energy- 
consuming sectors (UN News, 2016). In 2004, 
it contributed to about a quarter of the world’s 
carbon dioxide (CO
2
) emission in energy usage, 
with three-quarters of that figure coming from 
road vehicles (Metz, 2001). The emission has 
been predicted to rise by 80 % between 2007 
and 2030 due to the increase in private car 
ownership (Metz, 2001). A report released in 
2011 by Ward’s Auto stated that, globally, the 
number of cars had increased from 980 million 
in 2009, to 1.015 billion in 2010. 
City roads are dominated by private 
vehicles, which have severely polluted the 
environment because of their use of fossil fuel 
(Pojani & Stead, 2015; Mamat et al., 2016). 
However, in Northern Europe, a number of 
cities have experienced change in their urban 
settings; some road networks have been 
converted for other uses to discourage private 
cars from plying major parts of the city centre 
and/or restricting them to other parts of the city 
(Pojani & Stead, 2015). The government of 
those countries are promoting sustainable
living in cities by enhancing public transport 
and 
creating 
more pedestrian 
walkways 
(UNECE, 2011; OECD, 2013). 
In most cities of the developing world, 
the transport system is actually far from 
ideal (Pojani & Stead, 2015). Those cities 
are facing enormous challenges that include 
traffic congestion, high GHG emission, road 
accidents, poor public transport services, energy 
depletion, environmental degradation, and lack 
of accessibility/affordability to facilities for 
the urban poor (Pojani & Stead, 2015). It is 
estimated that by 2050, the use of private cars 
will increase three-fold, with most ownership- 
taking place in developing nations, where road 
accidents and fatalities are increasing (UN News, 

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158 
ISSUES UNDERMINING PUBLIC TRANSPORT UTILIZATION IN 
DAMMAM CITY, SAUDI ARABIA: AN EXPERT-BASED ANALYSIS 
Journal of Sustainability Science and Management 
Volume 14 Number 2, April 2019 : 157-171 
2016). This is evident as most of the cities are 
more concerned with expanding their transport 
infrastructure to accommodate private vehicles, 
with little investment in public transport. Thus, 
this current trend will definitely increase carbon 
emission, thereby compounding the challenges 
faced in reducing the global average temperature 
by 2°C (UN News, 2016). 
In Saudi Arabia, the utilization of public 
transport continues to remain minimal. This has 
led to a car ownership rate of 219 cars per 1000 
persons (Gately et al., 2013). The country’s 
land-use policy and layout designs are among 
the major reasons behind this increase, with 
sizeable spaces allocated for roads and roadside 
parking (Muller, 2004; Glaeser & Kahn, 2004). 
Saudi Arabians have bought approximately 40 
% of the vehicles sold in the Middle East, and
it has the largest auto and auto parts market in 
the region. The country imported approximately 
one million vehicles in 2016 (US Department 
of Commerce, 2017). Therefore, coupled with 
economic and population growth, Saudi Arabia 
is witnessing an incessant increase in the use of 
private cars. 
Dammam city, the third-largest conurbation 
in Saudi Arabia, is similarly experiencing the 
same challenges in its transport system. The 
city has one of the largest numbers of 
expatriates 
attracted 
to 
its 
excellent 
infrastructural facilities. This is one of the 
reasons the city is experiencing a continuous 
increase in the number of private cars. Absence 
of public transport utilization is, therefore, 
apparent in Dammam. 
The negative impact associated with the 
lack of utilization of public transport has been 
widely recognised. Meanwhile, more motorized 
transport is reported to increase climate-active 
pollutants, such as a nitrous oxide (NO), CO
2 
and methane (Woodcock et al., 2009; WHO, 
2015; Pojani & Stead, 2015). The poor air 
quality has been estimated to cause seven 
million deaths annually, besides bringing 
ailments like heart disease, asthma, bronchitis 
and brain damage (UN News, 2016). 
Similarly, in Saudi Arabia, road accidents 
alone has been rated as the second major health 
and economic challenge that cost around 21 
billion riyals in losses annually (Ansari et al., 
2000). Moreover, road accidents had been 
reported to kill more than 4,100 people and 
injure 28,000 every year (General Directorate 
of Traffic, 2003). That figure increased between 
2008 and 2009, when a website revealed that 
6,485 people had died and more than 36,000 
injured in more than 485,000 cases of road 
accidents in Saudi Arabia (Green Prophet, 
2010). This shows how the increase in the 
use of private cars is negatively affecting the 
citizens’ lives, health, and socioeconomic 
wellbeing. The importance of using public 
transport and reduction of private cars on the 
road to improve the wellbeing of society and 
promoting sustainable cities is outlines in the 
United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 
(SDG). The third goal highlights theimportance 
of reducing road accidents to preserve life. It 
states that half of the world’s mortality rate is due 
to road accidents. Similarly, Goal 13 highlights 
the importance of combating climate change, 
thereby focusing on minimizing pollutants from 
vehicles. 
Currently, sustainable developmenthas firmly 
established the pillars of a public policy agenda 
by looking at development issues through the 
lens of sustainable shift (Hezri, 2014). Thus, 
one of the sustainable ways of achieving the 
noble SDG is by promoting public transport. 
However, this is not possible without identifying 
the factors undermining the objective. Such 
factors include travel time, lack of accessibility, 
high cost, lack of comfort, lack of security, long 
waiting time, and lack of privacy (Cascetta & 
Cartenì, 2014; Kim et al., 2017). 
Current 
literature reveals 
that 
public 
transport is under-utilized in both developed 
and developing countries (Banai, 2006; Daniels 
& Mulley, 2013; Duleba et al., 2013; Cascetta 
& Cartenì, 2014; Pojani & Stead, 2015; Kim et