MULTI-CRITERIA EVALUATION OF EVERYDAY TRAVELS’ VARIANTS IN POLISH CITIES OF THE GZM METROPOLIS IN THE ERA OF PAID PARKING

Abstract

Due to the rapid development of civilization, more and more people use private cars to quickly reach their destination, which is mainly work or school. For this reason, the phenomenon of transport congestion often occurs on the roads. Road congestion has several negative effects on economic productivity, environmental quality, and safety, including deterioration of safety conditions, higher fuel consumption, increased air pollution, and an increase in the cost of goods and services. In order to minimize the effects of transport congestion in cities, a number of actions are taken. One of such action, which was taken in the Górnośląska-Zagłębiowska Metropolis, was the increase of the Paid Parking Zone in Katowice (Poland). The aim of the article is to determine the most advantageous way of commuting to the workplace in Katowice from one of the cities of the Górnośląska-Zagłębiowska Metropolis after the extension of the area of operation of the Paid Parking Zone in Katowice. The AHP multi-criteria decision support method was used for this purpose. The best variant of the choice of means of transport for commuting to the workplace in the functioning of the Paid Parking Zone in Katowice was assessed in terms of the following factors: travel time, travel cost, availability, and number of transfers. Five travel variants were analyzed, of which the most advantageous was the variant using a passenger car and an electric scooter.