Determining the factors affecting transportation demand management and selecting the best strategy: A case study

Demand management in transportation services, as well as demand sustainability, demand planning, and demand implementation are critical components in service quality and environmental sustainability. It is evident that developing a transportation system, particularly one responsive to society’s aspirations and demands, will result in long-term and sustainable success for enterprises. Transportation demand management and strategies can produce alternative perspectives at a desirable and sufficient level to handle problems in the field while considering the obstacles. Considering the elements influencing transportation demand management in logistics enterprises, this study aims to evaluate factors affecting transportation demand management and select the best strategy. The study was carried out on logistic firms with a corporate identity in the Turkish province of Samsun (Turkiye), engaged in international transportation activities to define the criteria affecting transportation demand management and select the best transportation demand strategy. The constituents from the literature review were analyzed using the q-rung orthopair fuzzy MCDA methodology. “Freight Transportation” was determined to be the most crucial measure affecting transportation demand management, while “Competition Legislation and Regulations Regulation” was the least important factor. The rapid expansion in the number of companies participating in freight transport and their capacity was evaluated as the essential aspect for the relevant logistics companies in transport demand management. The “Strategy for Prioritizing High Occupancy Vehicles” is the best transportation strategy based on the weights of the transportation demand management factors. Because of the implementation of this strategy in logistics organizations, this study is regarded as a significant indicator of competitiveness to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. The defined transport demand strategy also represents an exemplary model of the measures that need to be developed to increase the demand preference for sustainable transport.