Evaluation and Prioritization of Urban Decision makers in the Integration of Public Transportation System Using COPRAS method (Case Study: Urmia City)

Today, with the growth of urban population, the use of public and private transportation is increasing rapidly that causes air and noise pollution, and excessive consumption of fuel. Studies have shown that public transportation is more economical than private vehicles and emits less pollution. Public transportation requires integration and compatibility with other transportation systems for have a sustainable performance. Urmia metropolitan city with a population growth of 1.42% per year has been dealt with heavy traffic congestion and rising travel time. In order to reduce heavy traffic density and its problems in this city, Busas Rapid Transit (BRT) were designed and implemented as a public transportation system by urban planners and engineers. But, this transportation system needs integration in economical, technical, environmental and social aspects for having a proper performance and competence ability with other public transportation systems. So, firstly, in this paper, the integration criteria in this transportation system are obtained by designing a questionnaire and weighted using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), and then the evaluation and prioritizing urban decision makers such as urban executive authorities, urban board authorities, drivers and travelers are carried out using the COPRAS method to implement integration programs and policies and also expanding them in other parts of this city. Overall, the results show that urban executive authorities, drivers, passengers and urban board authorities in order have the first, the second priority, the third, and the fourth priority in making decisions and the integrateon of this public transportation system.