Public Engagement for Designing New Transport Services: Investigating Citizen Preferences from a Multiple Criteria Perspective

This paper presents a multi-criteria-based methodology to involve the general public in transport decision-making, aiming at collecting information useful to design a technically sound and well-accepted transport service. The case study presented is part of a wider participation procedure, involving experts and key stakeholders in the definition of the problem and of the possible solutions. It regards the connection between a metro station and a park-and-ride facility through a short-range transit system in the city of Catania (Italy). Around six hundred citizens have been involved via a wide consultation survey adopting a multi-criteria perspective, asking them to perform pairwise comparisons of different elements (i.e. criteria) that can characterize a transport service. Results of the analysis are useful to understand their heterogeneous preferences and pave the way for a well-thought-out design of a new transport service.