Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to Prioritize Network Benefits When Applying Novel Traffic Management Strategies

Continuous developments in computer technology and communications and their application in traffic operations have led to the development of several Traffic Management Strategies (TMS). This study applies the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to gather and consolidate stakeholder preferences, allowing for the identification of the most important network benefits obtained from implementing four emerging TMS. AHP provides a robust, cost-effective and popular framework for making similar decisions in complex, multi-stakeholder decision situations. To apply the AHP, we have solicited ten stakeholders of various backgrounds (private and public operators, transit authorities etc.) from four European cities: Athens (Greece), Manchester (UK), Lisbon (Portugal) and Rennes (France). Stakeholders were individually requested to express their preferences through pairwise comparisons across four axes (objectives): Service Performance, Network Efficiency, Economic Performance, and Environmental Performance. Each objective was linked to a scenario-specific KPI, which was communicated to stakeholders and allows for concrete TMS performance measurement, ex-ante (e.g. through simulation), or ex-post, on the field. It is derived that stakeholders prioritize differently the potential benefits arising from the implementation of each TMS.