Multi-Discipline Design Teams and the Delphi Technique for Transportation Planning.

This article presents information on the need for transportation planning as the development of transportation facilities affects our social, environmental and economic well being. This article proposes the use of Delphi technique as a method for improving communication among members of a multi-discipline design team for transportation planning. The Delphi technique in most applications has been used to produce a group consensus on possible future developments. The biggest advantage of using the Delphi technique for eliciting and processing judgmental data from a multi-discipline design team is that it provides a framework within which individuals with diverse backgrounds are able to work together on the same problem. The technique also gives all participants an equal opportunity to be heard. However, it may be time consuming. By using the Delphi technique, it becomes possible to determine which potential transportation developments are most likely to create the future transportation system desired by society, as defined by the multi-discipline design team. This information could then be used as an input by technicians in planning and developing future transportation systems.