Navigating the complexity of tram ride comfort assessment in growing urban environments: A cloud theory perspective

This study addresses the challenge of quantitatively assessing ride comfort in tram travel in Growing Urban Environments, where multiple influencing factors complicate developing a unified evaluation index system. A comprehensive evaluation framework based on cloud theory is proposed to overcome this challenge. The approach involves defining five-level comfort evaluation grades to capture passengers' experiences and perceptions accurately. The Criteria Importance through Inter-Criteria Correlation (CRITIC) method is employed to ensure objectivity to establish objective weights for evaluation indices. Subsequently, a cloud model algorithm is utilized to generate evaluation benchmark and actual result clouds, providing intuitive representations of the evaluation outcomes. The efficacy and rationality of the methodology is illustrated through a case study focusing on Suzhou Tram Line 2. This research contributes valuable insights for enhancing public transportation experiences in new urban settings by offering a systematic and objective approach to assessing tram ride comfort.