Investigation and evaluation of main indicators impacting synchromodality using ARTIW and AHP methods

Abstract

The East-West Transport Corridor (EWTC) in the Southern part of the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) has been chosen as a practical area for implementation of a novel transportation concept called synchromodality. The main expectations in developing synchromodal transport system are related to the improvement of the transport service level, modal shift and capacities utilization of transport hubs along this corridor. However, in the absence of identification of major factors influencing synchromodal system it is difficult to evaluate a potential benefit of implementation of this new transport concept. Our main goal in this paper was, on the basis of a review and using a specific questionnaire, to determine the main indicators impacting effectiveness of the synchromodal system. Compatibility of experts’ opinions was verified by using Multiple-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) method. The paper will be useful for transport and logistics companies interested in moving towards synchromodal transport, as well as for future researchers. In the course of the research – using the Average Rank Transformation Into Weight (ARTIW) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods – it was determined that the normalized subjective weights of the five main criteria impacting synchromodality distributed in the following order: service quality, efficiency, infrastructure sufficiency, technical properties of terminals and interaction of technologies. In accordance with the Kendall’s concordance coefficient and consistency ratio values, expert opinions are consistent, which enabled the rankings of expert group averages and the eigenvector to take as a result of the task solution. The outcomes of the research presented in the paper have shown that service quality (transport time, service and waiting time, handling time, working hours, reliability and flexibility) is the most important indicator (criterion) impacting synchromodality. At the same time it is a big challenge for transport researchers because it requires to design and apply a qualitatively new mathematical models facilitating an establishment of an optimal synchromodal network and services along chosen transport corridor.

Criteria Impacting Synchronization of Transport Flows along International Transport Corridor

“…The responses were received from 14 experts and this was done in the framework of TENTacle (2019) project of the BSR INTERREG (2019) programme [25]. One of the aims of this project was to investigate the prospects of further development of transport networks, as well as the possibilities for a better convergence of transport planning, management and implementation of the integrity of transport patterns linking the EU BSR and the EU Eastern Partnership Countries [9].…”

“…Paper [9] was published to address the problems of synchronization transport by addressing a number of key factors, but very briefly in terms of technical and technological factors. Therefore, the authors of this paper have put forward the following basic hypothesis: the synchronization of intermodal transport activities in international transport corridors depends on the technical characteristics of the terminals and technological interoperability.…”

“…This task is sometimes accomplished intuitively in practice by simplifying the problem in favour of coordination in a few key points in the network. However, a networkwide synchronization is a complex task by nature [9,10].…”

Principal Component Analysis of the Potential for Increased Rail Competitiveness in East-Central Europe

“…Demand is considered here as motivation for rail freight service and not as a consequence [13]. In the transportation literature, technical and cost issues are generally examined by statistical techniques [14] while, for preference analyses, multi-criteria decision-making techniques are applied [15]. In our study, influencing factors from both groups were selected and also direct competitiveness indices (Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), GCI6P, GCI2P) have been integrated to elaborate the dependencies of these influencers.…”

Mathematical Model for Cargo Allocation Problem in Synchromodal Transportation

“…Synchronization is the harmonization of several identical or corresponding processes so that they take place simultaneously or their periods of time differ at a certain time interval [2]. Synchromodality is a freight transport process in which information is exchanged expeditiously in order to maximize the benefits of different modes of transport and transport nodes in terms of efficiency and environmental impact [3].…”