Sustainable transportation, as a key pillar of sustainable development, plays a critical role in mitigating environmental impacts and enhancing quality of life. This study aims to identify scientific trends, uncover research gaps, and reveal emerging pathways in sustainable transportation research. Adopting a bibliometric approach, the study maps the knowledge structure, patterns of scientific collaboration, and conceptual evolution within the field. Data were systematically retrieved from the Scopus database for the period 2000–2024, yielding an initial set of 1,522 records. After removing 87 duplicates, 1,435 records underwent preliminary screening based on titles and abstracts, resulting in the exclusion of 1,018 irrelevant documents. Full-text assessment of the remaining 418 records led to a final selection of 269 documents, comprising research articles, review papers, conference proceedings, and book chapters. Analyses included co-word, co-authorship, and co-citation/bibliographic coupling techniques, with conceptual maps and scientific clusters generated using VOSviewer and SciMAT. Findings indicate that the literature is concentrated around several major conceptual clusters, with research primarily focusing on sustainable urban transport planning, reduction of transport-related emissions, and the development of clean technologies such as electric vehicles. The United States and China were identified as leading countries in publication volume, while Arizona State University, Colorado State University, and Sharif University of Technology emerged as the most prolific institutions. Bibliometric results also highlight growing attention to emerging topics such as electric vehicles and shared mobility systems, whereas areas like rural transport sustainability and social equity in transportation remain underexplored, pointing to significant research gaps. Overall, this comprehensive mapping provides a robust scientific basis for future research planning and evidence-based policy development in sustainable transportation.