Using an AHP-ISM Based Method to Study the Vulnerability Factors of Urban Rail Transit System

Abstract

Abstract:As a sustainable means of public transportation, urban rail transit system undergoes rapid expansion in China. How to provide a safe and reliable service has been the subject of growing attention in this context. However, such work is challenging because rail transit systems are quite vulnerable and influenced by a set of interacting factors. Studying these vulnerability factors will contribute significantly to the operation of rail transit system. From this perspective, this paper made an exploration of the vulnerability factors based on an integrated method consisting of AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) and ISM (Interpretative Structural Modeling). Based on literature review, 21 vulnerability factors were identified. Subsequently, expert elicitation was employed to ascertain the importance of each factor and the interrelations among them. The results suggest that management and individual factors have the highest importance weights and the interrelations among vulnerability factors could be expressed as a five-layer structure, in which management factors were inclined to be at the lower level. The research provides valuable information for decision makers to take proactive strategies and reinforcement policies to guarantee safety operation of urban rail transit system and ensure urban public safety, which could promote the sustainable development of cities.

Using the FAHP, ISM, and MICMAC Approaches to Study the Sustainability Influencing Factors of the Last Mile Delivery of Rural E-Commerce Logistics

“…There have been studies on the integration of AHP and ISM [39][40][41], or the integration of ISM and MICMAC [43,44], but rarely on the integration of AHP, ISM, and MICMAC. By comparison, the proposed integration in this research was not only to identify sustainability influencing factors of rural last mile delivery, but also to understand the driving power and dependence and the relationships between different sustainability influencing factors.…”

“…However, the shortcoming of the ISM is its subjectivity, as the determination of the key factors depends on experience. Some scholars have proposed analyzing the influencing factors by integrating an ISM and AHP; Tian studied the affecting factors of risks in the workplace [39], Duleba analyzed the connecting factors in a public transport system [40], and Song revealed the vulnerability factors of an urban rail transit system [41]. First, the AHP is used to establish the hierarchical impact factors and then the ISM is used to find the hierarchical relationships among the influencing factors.…”

Analysis of Failures and Influence Factors of Critical Infrastructures: A Case of Metro

“…With an aim to improve safety performance, Li et al [17] established a metro operation hazard network model to analyze the interactions among metro operation hazards. Song et al [18] proposed an AHP-ISM-based framework to explore the vulnerability factors of the metro system. eir findings provide deep insights into the knowledge and perception about metro operation safety.…”

Safety Assessment Model for Dangerous Goods Transport by Air Carrier

“…AHP is a structured technique for organizing and analyzing complex decisions. It provides a comprehensive and rational framework for group decision making and is widely used around the world [26]. However, the disadvantage of AHP is that it is influenced easily by expert knowledge and experience or the preferences of decision makers.…”