A Distance-Based AHP-DEA Super-Efficiency Approach for Selecting an Electric Bike Sharing System Provider: One Step Closer to Sustainability and a Win–Win Effect for All Target Groups

Abstract

Existing research on electric bike sharing systems (e-BSS) emphasises the importance of the sustainability of the systems and the need to respect the views of all stakeholders when planning e-BSS. However, this research overlooks the fact that the sustainability of e-BSS depends to a large extent on the skills and knowledge of the parties who select an electric bike provider, which in most cases is the investor in the e-BSS. There is no previous paper that provides support for investors in (1) defining a set of criteria for selecting a provider that takes into account all of the three domains of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental) and (2) developing a tool that best meets sustainability standards on the one hand and the needs and requirements of all stakeholders (including e-bike users and investors) on the other hand. A distance-based analytic hierarchy process/data envelopment analysis (AHP-DEA) super-efficiency approach was proposed and applied to adapt DEA to the needs of predefined groups by using slack variables. The approach takes into account the fact that not all outputs have a positive impact on the final outcome; the approach also allows decision-makers to define the hierarchical structure of the importance of the criteria directly based on the responses of the selected group. A case study in Slovenia illustrated the application of the approach.

Compromise Multi-Criteria Selection of E-Scooters for the Vehicle Sharing System in Poland

“…Such issues appear only in the work of Sałabun et al [32], where e-bikes were considered. The works of Wankmüller et al [31] and Bajec et al [15] are also partially similar to this topic. The first of these articles analyzed the potential criteria for selecting various e-micromobility solutions.…”

“…Deveci et al [30] dealt with the issue of safety assessment of e-scooters using the fuzzy LAAW and qROFS Einstein WASPAS methods. Bajec et al [15] using a set of DAHP and DEA methods selected the supplier of the e-bike-sharing system. Wankmüller et al [31] used the BWM method to identify criteria relevant to the selection of e-micromobility vehicles for mountain rescue.…”

“…The selection of criteria was based on literature sources. As the literature shows a shortage of research on the multi-criteria price of e-scooters, the criteria used in similar decision problems concerning e-bikes and e-micromobility in general were analyzed [15,31,32,40,41]. Moreover, publications on a similar problem of choosing an electric car [42][43][44][45][46].…”

“…[14]. In the case of such sharing systems, it is important to respect the points of view of all stakeholders, i.e., both investors and users [15]. Due to the wide availability on the Polish market and frequent use by sharing stations in Poland [16], this study considers e-scooters as the primary means of e-microtransport in cities.…”

A Hybrid DEA Approach for the Upgrade of an Existing Bike-Sharing System with Electric Bikes

“…In the proposed methods, the e-BSS stations are DMUs. The most commonly used paradigm assumes that the discriminatory power of the DEA method is reliable if at least twice more DMUs are considered than the sum of the number of inputs and outputs of the model [26,27].…”