Using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to introduce weights to social life cycle assessment of mobility services

Abstract

Decisions in social sustainability assessment of mobility services often pose a multi-criteria decision-making issue, as trade-offs can occur between multiple alternatives and a participatory process should be used. Thus, the goal of this research is to support decision-making through determining weightings for different criteria and indicators for social sustainability assessment of mobility services. For the weighting process, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method was used. A participatory analysis was chosen to identify those weightings. In total, 48 experts in the field of sustainable urban mobility were questioned from three different groups: academic institutions, city authorities, and mobility service providers in order to analyze differences and similarities between these groups. While some indicators resulted in clear prioritization, other indicators revealed large differences between the expert groups. For the majority of indicators, the weighting results were similar for all three groups of experts. Consequently, the results provide clear guidance for decision-makers in the field of sustainable urban mobility.