A comparative location study for the joint development station of a mass rapid transit system: a case in Taichung City in Taiwan.

This paper is concerned with the selection of a candidate joint development station (JDS) for a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. We propose a method to reach consensus for a group decision on the basis of a combination of the analytic hierarchy process and the assurance region model of data envelopment analysis. Several strategies for using this methodology-for example, Delphi procedures-are also discussed. On the basis of these analyses, the evaluators (council members) responsible for recommending the proper candidate JDS for an MRT system in Taichung City, Taiwan, came up with two contenders from among five: one station in Taichung's CBD area and the other in the Situn district. It was not possible to discriminate between the two using multiple criteria for evaluating stations. The evaluators recommended these two stations to the city council, who should now be able to make an informed, objective decision. In this report we have summarized, with emphasis on the methodological aspects, the decision-making processes that the evaluators followed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]