Multiple Criteria Evaluation of Different Redesign Variants of the Public Tram System

The paper presents a multiple criteria evaluation of ten redesign variants of the public tram system in one of the medium sized cities in Poland. The variants have been constructed heuristically, based on “common sense”, best practices and authors’ expert knowledge in the field. Multiple criteria evaluation of the proposed variants has been performed with the application of a consistent family of criteria that includes social, economic, technical and environmental aspects. It also represents the interests of the Decision Maker and different stakeholders. The authors have defined different models of preferences. The decision problem, formulated as a multiple criteria ranking problem has been solved with the application of selected Multiple Criteria Decision Making/ Aiding MCDM/A methods, such as: AHP and ELECTRE III/IV. The authors have carried out a series of computational experiments and have compared their results with intuitive decision making process carried out in the local Town Hall. The proposed methodology can be viewed as a decision support tool for governmental officers and local administration.