Evaluation of innovative ideas for Public Transport proposed by citizens using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA)

Abstract

Introduction: The use of participatory techniques in the field of transport is coming to the forefront recently. In this frame, eight co-creation workshops and five online crowdsourcing campaigns took place in Thessaloniki, Southern Tuscany, Rotterdam/The Hague, and Frankfurt, from which many innovative ideas to enhance Public Transport were generated by citizens. Purpose: A simple list of innovations would not be very useful for Public Transport Operators, as they cannot implement all of them at once. There was an obvious need for their ranking and this is the purpose of this paper. Methods: The ranking was realized with the most used Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis method in transportation research, i.e. the Analytic Hierarchy Process, using three criteria: Feasibility, Utility, and Innovativeness. An online questionnaire was distributed to experts, using a modified snowball sampling technique, which yielded 97 completed questionnaires. Results: Utility (42.90%) was found to be the most important criterion, followed by Feasibility (40.10%), and Innovativeness (17.00%). Four lists of innovations were derived, ranked with respect to a) all three examined criteria, b) Feasibility, c) Utility, and d) Innovativeness. The highest ranked innovation for a) and c) was found to be Mobility as a Service and platform with real-time travel, comfort, and multi-modal information; for b) City marketing from a Public Transport perspective; and for d) Advanced e-ticketing system. Conclusion: The results revealed which of the innovations are the most promising and provide valuable insight into how to integrate innovation with Public Transport to make it more attractive. Public Transport Operators may use the results according to the peculiarities of their city and the importance they give to Feasibility, Utility, and Innovativeness.

An integrated grey AHP-MOORA model for ameliorating public transport service quality

“…Ghorbanzadeh et al [30], in their study of evaluation public bus transport supply quality improvement in Mersin, Turkey, conducted interval AHP approach, 24 criteria and subcriteria were estimated. Nalmpantis et al [46] have proposed AHP approach to evaluate a set of innovation ideas for enhancing public transportation system and make it more attractive, the suggestions were recommended by the users and non-users.…”

Sustainable Personal Transport Modes in a Life Cycle Perspective—Public or Private?

“…The service combines public transport, car sharing, a rental car service, taxis and a bicycle system-all in one smartphone app, all on one invoice, with 24/7 support and bonus points for sustainable transport choices. This form of solution is currently widely discussed both by researchers and by practitioners, and has also recently been rated by experts as their top choice [35]. However, concerns have been raised about its effectiveness with respect to sustainability as it may sometimes lead to increased car use; some subscribers take the opportunity to test new cars out of curiosity, resulting in rebound effects once again [36].…”

Factor Analysis of Customized Bus Attraction to Commuters with Different Travel Modes

“…Many existing studies analyzed the factors influencing residents' mode choice concerning all modes available including CB based on the questionnaire surveys using discrete choice models [22][23][24][25]. Besides, Nalmpantis et al revealed that utility, as well as feasibility and innovativeness were promising criterions to make public transport more attractive [26]. Tsafarakis et al also concentrated on differences in user preferences along with public transport innovations in European cities [27].…”