An integrated swara-waspas group decision making framework to evaluate smart card systems for public transportation

Abstract

Recent technological developments affect daily life as much as they affect the industries. As part of these developments, automation and smart systems are important part of everyday life. Smart card systems are one of the well-known types of smart automation technology being used by the majority of the population in public transportation in most developed countries. Even though automated fare payment systems have been widely integrated into public transportation in developed countries, integration of smart card systems is still under consideration in most developing countries. The aim of this study is to propose a framework to evaluate different smart card systems to determine the best one and additionally validate their benefits when compared with the traditional fare payment system. For this purpose, an integrated multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) framework is used that combines two recent and popular methodologies together. The proposed methodology employs Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) method for determination of criteria weights in the decision model and the Weighted Additive Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) method for comparison of alternatives. Research results revealed that all smart card systems show improvements under performance, reliability, and user satisfaction related criteria. However, traditional fare payment systems are found to be safer under consideration of personal data protection. Findings of this study can be used to select the best smart card system and as a guide for deciding on areas of improvement during the implementation phase to ensure higher user satisfaction.