Abstract. The problems discussed in the study are connected with evaluation of complex technical systems functioning, in particular, transport systems. It was assumed that evaluation of their functioning depends on fulfilment degree of selected criteria. Therefore, it is important to determine a set of criteria including their type, number and importance. Since the research object is a public city transport system considered to be a sociotechnical system of the type: human (driver) -machine (vehicle) and the environment , the criteria to be used for the assessment must include behavior of humans, operation of transport means, and the environmental impact. Thus, selection and determination of importance of significant, time variable, measurable and independent characteristics whose values, in a given time moment or a given time interval, define fulfillment degree of the criteria provide the basis for evaluation of such systems functioning. The quality of technical systems functioning in time is assessed on the basis of the criteria fulfilment degree or comparison and classification of different systems of the same type. It needs to be emphasized that the choice of optimal methods for selection of relevant criteria and determination of their impact on the analyzed system functioning is the research subject of study.