The term metaverse, which shows a 3D-designed virtual medium where people can connect through their avatars to spend time, telecommute, and socialize, has entered our lives fast. There are limitless implementations that can take place in the metaverse. Integration of another technological innovation, which is autonomous vehicles to the metaverse, is at hand. There are numerous alternative uses of autonomous vehicles in the metaverse. In this study, three alternative implementation options for autonomous vehicles in the metaverse are investigated. These alternatives are evaluated using the proposed multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method under twelve different criteria, which are grouped under four main aspects, namely technological, societal, legal and ethical, and transportation. A novel hybrid model based on q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets (q-ROFSs) which consists of three stages is presented to express the framework definition, calculate the weight coefficients of the criteria, and rank various alternatives. In the first stage, the structure of the problem is created. In the second stage, q-ROFSs based OPA algorithm is used to calculate the weights of the criteria. In the last stage, q-ROFSs based RAFSI (Ranking of Alternatives through Functional mapping of criterion sub-intervals into a Single Interval) is applied to choose the best alternative among the three alternatives. Finally, we present a case study to verify our proposed method. The results of this study have the potential to be used as a guide by decision-makers of the metaverse while integrating autonomous vehicles into the transportation system.

Blockchain technology and metaverse advancements allow people to create virtual personalities and spend time online. Integrating public transportation into the metaverse could improve services and collect user data. This study introduces a hybrid decision-making framework for prioritizing sustainable public transportation in Metaverse under q-rung orthopair fuzzy set (q-ROFS) context. In this regard, firstly q-rung orthopair fuzzy (q-ROF) generalized Dombi weighted aggregation operators (AOs) and their characteristics are developed to aggregate the q-ROF information. Second, a q-ROF information-based method using the removal effects of criteria (MEREC) and stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) models are proposed to find the objective and subjective weights of criteria, respectively. Then, a combined weighting model is taken to determine the final weights of the criteria. Third, the weighted sum product (WISP) method is extended to q-ROFS context by considering the double normalization procedures, the proposed operators and integrated weighting model. This method has taken the advantages of two normalization processes and four utility measures that approve the effect of benefit and cost criteria by using weighted sum and weighted product models. Next, to demonstrate the practicality and effectiveness of the presented method, a case study of sustainable public transportation in metaverse is presented in the context of q-ROFSs. The findings of this study confirms that the proposed model can recommend more feasible performance while facing numerous influencing factors and input uncertainties, and thus, provides a wider range of applications