Application of Vague Analytical Hierarchy Process to Prioritize the Challenges Facing Public Transportation in Dar Es Salaam City-Tanzania

Transportation is a key to the economy and social welfare; it makes mobility more accessible and enhances the social and economic interactions. On the other hand, the increase of urban population, pollution and other negative impacts has directly affected the existing transportation system in Dar es Salaam City Tanzania. As the transportation challenges cannot be overcome simultaneously due to the scarcity of financial resources, a decision support tool is needed to prioritize these challenges. In this study, a composite model of Vague Set Theory (VST) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is applied to appraise the challenges. The Vague Analytical Hierarchy Process (VAHP) uses opinions of experts collected from a survey questionnaire. The computational results reveal the ranking in descending order of the urban transportation challenges as poor traffic management, inadequacy of proper public transit service and inadequacy of road transport infrastructure. The results also depict that the VAHP model is a useful decision support tool for transport planners, transport policy makers and other industry stakeholders. Keywords—Analytical Hierarchy Process; Vague Set; Urban Transportation; Transportation Challenge; Decision making