Achieving sustainable mobility in the Szczecin metropolitan area in the post‐COVID‐19 era: The DEMATEL and PROMETHEE II approach

Abstract

This article presents the idea of modelling and supporting the decision‐making process in the field of development directions of a sustainable transport system in a metropolitan area. The global COVID‐19 pandemic is causing changes in the perception of the public transport system by passengers. Users’ concerns for their own safety may lead to a shift away from public transport. Policy makers are advised to pay attention to these new phenomena that are hindering the development of sustainable transport in urban areas. Thus, many projects for the development of sustainable urban transport mobility, prepared before COVID‐19, require re‐analysis and adaptation to the decision‐making processes of choosing the preferred means of transport by citizens. The scientific aim of this article was to develop a mathematical model based on the hybrid DEMATEL‐ PROMETHEE II method, supporting city decision‐makers in the decision‐making process regarding the selection of appropriate measures supporting the development of sustainable transport. The issues covered in the article include economic, informational and legal aspects, including electromobility, the principles of a low‐emission society, and sustainable collective transport. The model was prepared for the needs of the Szczecin Metropolitan Area, where the construction of the Szczecin Metropolitan Railway, delayed by COVID‐19, is underway and is to be the main axis of the public transport system. Finally, the article provides a ranking of groups of measures, dimensions and criteria that should be taken into account by decision‐makers and planners in the modified plans for the sustainable development of metropolitan transport systems in the period after COVID‐ 19.