Futures studies on smart transportation provide a key platform for long-term and sustainable urban development by identifying emerging trends and developing strategic scenarios. The establishment and implementation of these systems in the Ahvaz metropolis is an inevitable necessity for intelligent management of future environmental challenges and reducing problems such as air pollution and traffic; because this forward-looking approach, while increasing urban resilience, enables the improvement of the environmental quality of Ahvaz in a sustainable, innovative and technology-based manner. In this regard, the aim of the present study is to identify and analyze the key drivers affecting the role of smart transportation in improving the urban environment of Ahvaz until 2041. In this regard, this study is applied in terms of its purpose and is classified as futures research with a descriptive-analytical approach in terms of its nature and method. This study has attempted to identify the factors affecting the development of smart transportation and to analyze its impact on the environmental indicators of Ahvaz (reducing air pollution, energy management, reducing noise pollution, and improving the quality of life). The statistical population of the study consisted of 50 urban managers and experts, environmental specialists, and academic experts who were selected using a purposeful snowball sampling method. The research results show that the Ahvaz smart transportation system in the 2041 horizon has a highly causal and interconnected structure in which technological variables such as “smart intersection management”, “real-time energy monitoring”, and “change in travel patterns in dust conditions” play the role of root drivers and main drivers of the system. These findings prove that the achievement of the ultimate environmental goals, including “reducing pollutant emissions” and “smart development of green space”, is directly dependent on the performance of these technological drivers.