Assessment of citizens' satisfaction with intra-city transportation system in Hamedan city using non-Liner models and artificial neural network

Transportation is one of the most important constituent parts of urban life that determines the shape and way of social and economic development of the city. In this regard, the quality of transportation in Hamadan city, which can be very useful in its development, was considered. The nonparametric regression model and artificial neural network were used to assess the citizens' satisfaction from the transportation system. For this purpose, first, a questionnaire was developed based on three main indicators (equipment and facilities status, physical status, management status, and service delivery). Citizens' perspective was gathered. Then, using a nonparametric regression model, independent indicators and satisfaction as an independent variable were used. The correlation and root mean square of the output errors of this model were 0.914 and 0.334 respectively. In another approach, using an artificial neural network, a model with three intrinsic neuron structures, one hidden layer and one output neuron was constructed. The output correlation of this model was 0.998 and the mean square error of the error was about 6 times lower than regression model. The results showed that the neural network model with both linear and nonlinear correlation estimates is more versatile and more suitable than nonparametric regression. On the other hand, price indices with coefficient (0.885), equality and welfare with (0.795) and decrease in demand for travel (0.790) are the most effective indicators for citizens' satisfaction with urban transport network.