A decision support model to incorporate public and expert opinions for assessing the privatization of public bus transit system: Application of ELECTRE for the bus system in Eskisehir, Turkey

This paper proposes a multicriteria model for assessing public bus operation systems based on the ELECTRE method in the city of Eskisehir, Turkey. In this specific problem, public and expert opinions towards the privatization of urban bus lines were collected through a comprehensive survey to determine the best operation system; either by the local authority or private operators. The data collected include the opinions of four different groups of people namely: system users, transportation administrators, civil organizations and experts in the transportation field. The ELECTRE model yielded that the privatization of the bus system is preferred (by 37 to 14 points) over its operation by the public entity (local municipality).   Key words: Decision support system, public bus operation, Electre method, public participation.