Introduction: Due to its large population, lack of green spaces, inappropriate urban structure, and traffic congestion, Tehran is considered one of the most polluted cities in the world. Air pollution in Tehran is one of the basic health and environmental challenges that can have serious consequences for the health of citizens and their social costs. In the meantime, city buses, as one of the main means of public transportation, play an important role in the movement of passengers, but at the same time, due to fossil fuels and old technologies, they are responsible for a major contribution to the emission of pollutants. This release of pollution in turn leads to negative consequences and high costs for society. Therefore, in the present study, while determining the value of environmental damage caused by the emission of pollutants in the terminals of inner-city buses in Tehran in 2020 based on the information obtained from the transportation and urban traffic organization of Tehran municipality, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats of inner-city buses in the emission of environmental pollutants with the use of the SWOT model have been discussed.
Materials and Methods: The current research is based on an analytical-descriptive approach using field research and library studies. Based on this, the evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the system and the presentation of pollution reduction solutions have been carried out in the form of strategic SWOT analysis. For this purpose, the required information has been collected by interviewing and completing 60 questionnaires by experts, experts and drivers of six main systems in Tehran Bus Company. Validity of questionnaires was confirmed by 10 experts and its reliability was approved by Cronbach alpha (α=0.93).
Results: According to the results, the social cost of pollution during an annual period caused by the consumption of diesel fuel is estimated at 829.43 billion rials, which is imposed on the environment every day. The mentioned figure is based on the shadow price equivalent of CO₂ pollutant and based on the price of 2020. Also, the results showed that the most important weaknesses of public transport pollution in the metropolis of Tehran are the adverse effects of high traffic congestion during peak hours on the performance of public and private transport systems, as well as the high use of private cars, especially single-passenger cars. Carrying out intra-city trips is reserved. In addition, according to the results, the most important threats include the multi-nuclear structure of Tehran metropolis and the large size of the urban area, the geographical location of Tehran and climate changes caused by fine dust. It should be mentioned the final scores obtained from the analysis of the internal factor matrix (IFE) and external matrix (EFE) were calculated as 2.75 and 2.59, respectively.
Discussion: Based on this, the situation of the desired solutions to reduce pollution is in an aggressive position, based on which it is necessary to get the maximum benefit from the existing capabilities and potentials and the combination of strengths and upcoming opportunities. According to the results of the construction and rapid development of metro lines, the multiplicity of highway networks in the city, and the priority of urban management to build and expand BRT lines in different areas of the city, the most important strengths and also the potential of producing parts related to the bus fleet for its development inside the country The high impact of the media in changing the citizens' traffic perspective and the possibility of more technical monitoring for more efficient use of fuel and reducing its consumption are the most important opportunities in reducing pollution by the public fleet.