An integrated decision support model for effective institutional coordination framework in planning for public transportation

The absence of effective coordination among different institutions involved in planning for public transportation has become a prominent global concern. At present, numerous cities are grappling with the need to establish a customized framework for institutional coordination that aligns with the specific circumstances of each city. Decision-makers encounter obstacles in the form of uncertainty when evaluating strategies aimed at promoting effective institutional coordination in planning for public transportation. In this study, a two-stage model is introduced that integrated the method based on the Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method into a unique framework under the interval-valued spherical fuzzy (IVSF) environment to determine the weights of the criteria and ranks the strategies, respectively. A case study of Nairobi is employed to demonstrate the formulation and solution of the problem. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to evaluate the stability of the proposed model. The results of the analysis revealed that the lack of political will and corruption, inadequate participation in planning, and poor vision or plan for the city are the foremost challenges in achieving effective institutional coordination in planning for public transportation. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis ranked the implementation of good governance principles as the top strategy to overcome these challenges. This study introduces an innovative perspective that specifically targets local governments and tackles the problem of unregulated fragmentation within public transportation agreements among diverse institutions. Furthermore, it provides a framework designed to streamline the implementation of separate public transportation initiatives.