An integrated Kano-TOPSIS approach for age-friendly design of urban bus stops

Purpose In response to the inherent ambiguity of requirements and the suboptimal efficiency in decision-making processes related to age-friendly design aspects of urban bus stops, a comprehensive framework driven by an integrated Kano-TOPSIS approach was proposed. Design/methodology/approach Utilizing data research and user interviews, a pool of user demands was constructed, leading to the identification of 19 characteristics of waiting requirements for the elderly population. Subsequently, the Kano model was applied for classification and selection, establishing a hierarchical structure of age-friendly requirements for bus stops, which served as the foundation for proposing two age-friendly bus stop design proposals. With the integration of the TOPSIS multi-criteria decision-making model, the design proposals and samples were subjected to decision calculations and evaluations to determine their priority ranking. Findings The results indicated that the two age-friendly bus stop designs developed based on high-weight design factors selected by the Kano-TOPSIS model outperformed existing relevant designs. The Kano-TOPSIS model accurately identifies hierarchical elderly user needs and transforms them into a quantified ranking of design elements, providing a scientific basis for decision-making in the age-friendly design of urban bus facilities. Originality/value By analyzing the behavior patterns and differences in demands of the elderly population, this research drives the refined categorization of application scenarios for public products, paving the way for future innovations in age-friendly development of public products.