The impact of smart transportation on the sustainable development of road transportation: An environmental efficiency perspective

Smart transportation (ST) has the potential to reduce carbon emissions; however, the efficiency gains and convenience it provides may also stimulate additional travel demand, potentially offsetting environmental gains through rebound effects. Against this backdrop, this study employs balanced panel data from 30 provinces in mainland China (2011–2022) to examine whether ST promotes sustainable development in the transport sector by improving environmental efficiency (EE). We first measure and analyze the temporal and spatial trends of ST and EE, then assess whether ST generates “green efficiency gains” or induces “rebound consumption” through an econometric analysis, followed by mediation and heterogeneity analyses to explore underlying mechanisms and contextual differences. The results indicate that ST can improve the EE of road transport sector by increasing the scale of effective transportation and fostering technological innovation. Heterogeneity analysis shows that ST significantly enhances EE in the eastern and central regions, whereas its effect in other regions is limited. Moreover, ST can also enhance EE in regions with high road network density. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that ST contributes positively to the EE of road transportation and has important implications for the formulation of transportation policies.