The area transportation study as a decision making process

This paper reviews the types of decisions associated with area transportation studies (ats), and considers how successfully the studies are in assisting decisions to be made. Decision making processes involved in large scale data collection and analysis are examined. It is suggested that classical models of decision making drawn from the social sciences may be helpful in establishing realistic frameworks for an ats and its resulting recommendations. Such models may enable the complex interactions involved in transportation systems to be adequately defined in terms of a multi objective approach.