Identification of required stations for autonomous vehicles using AHP and TOPSIS method with GIS approach

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) equipped with new technologies that replace the human driver and operate essential functions without human input. Current stations have simple structures that need to be re-evaluated for the use of AVs in future sustainable cities. As the aim of this study is to identify appropriate locations of stations for AVs, 53 existing stations were evaluated in Mashhad, Iran. The combination of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis and Geographic Information System (GIS) software confirmed 15 of them based on considered criteria of accident rate, street width, population, traffic congestion, distances from stations and station density. Additionally, the mentioned criteria were ranked using TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) method, and their weight were determined with the aid of AHP analysis. Finally, 9 Decision-Making Units (DMUs) were proposed for the construction of new AVs stations, and GIS maps indicated that these 9 stations meet the criteria more than others. In addition, the sensitivity analysis was specifically conducted using the Export Choice software to evaluate the robustness and stability of the model's results and to ensure their accuracy under different conditions.