DECISION-MAKING WHEN WE CANNOT REDUCE EVERYTHING TO MONEY TERMS

This paper addresses the problem of selection amongst alternative transportation actions. Typically, these involve planning and environmental side-effects. The consequences of each action have been assessed by evaluation of its effect on a standard list of factors (attribute list), the same for each action. The selection task consists of using the attribute list to determine a 'worth' of total worth obtained subject to the resource and other constraints which limit choice. This paper considers only the problem of worth. "Simple additive weighting" or "linear worth" is described; this consists of multiplying each attribute by a coeffiecent and adding up, basing preference decisions on the single number so obtained. This convenient method has definite implications for how each factor should be measured. The study finds that whenever cost is one of the factors, rational decision-making will assign a money value to each unit of each factor, through these money values need have little connection with market values.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in "Urban Traffic Models," which is a publication containing the proceedings of Seminar N of the Summer Annual Meeting at University of Warwick, England during July, 1975.
• Corporate Authors:

  Planning and Transport Res and Computation Co Ltd

  167 Oxford Street
  London W1R 1AH,   England 
• Authors:
  • Murchland, J D
• Publication Date: 1975-7

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 371-373
• Serial:
  • Publication of: IRCOBI SECRETARIAT
  • Publisher: IRCOBI (International Research Council on the Biokinetics of Impacts)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Costs; Decision making; Environmental impacts; Transportation planning; Urban transportation
• Old TRIS Terms: Substitutes
• Subject Areas: Environment; Finance; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00148084
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: P122
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 16 1981 12:00AM