Performance Evaluation of RMTS Bus Routes by using Multi Criteria Decision Making Method

Bus routes evaluation is one of the important aspects of transit planning system. It provides valuable information based on which important operating decisions can be taken. The evaluation identifies the operating conditions and existing problems so as to provide an objective basis for requisite decision for regulating routes, such as withdrawing a route, or combining routes or establishing new routes, and improving service and efficiency of routes. One of the important aspects that affect the performance of the bus transportation is the performance of the routes. Hence it is proposed to develop a model to evaluate the performance of routes. The performance of route depends on several criteria. Some of these criteria are quantitative (on time performance, bus stop spacing, fuel consumption, etc.) in nature and some are qualitative (road condition, safety, comfort). So, it is proposed to use a Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) tool to evaluate the routes. The MCDM tool which can deal with both qualitative and quantitative factors is Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). In this study 5 RMTS bus routes out of 45 RMTS bus routes have been taken. Considering all mentioned performance indicators, the develops system prioritized all five routes from best to worst.