Ethics is a discipline dealing with the set of rules, principles and beliefs used to judge the value of human actions. Ethics are relevant in the transportation sector due to the diversity and the social relevance of its effects, both positive and negative. Normative assessments of transportation plans and policies invoked by policy-makers, researchers and activists often use concepts such as equality, equity, fairness and justice, which are informed by ethical views. Despite the increased interest in these issues in policy debates and research, there are few examples of actual attempts to explicitly address them in transport planning. This entry presents contemporary perspectives around ethical question in transportation, including social understandings of accessibility, risk and environmental effects, as well as a review of transportation project evaluation methods and the implications of ethics for policy-makers, researchers, and individuals and companies making decisions in the transportation market
