Estimating Technical and Scale Inefficiencies of Public Transit Systems
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 127, Issue 3
Abstract
Several evaluation standards and performance indicators have been developed to determine transit performance at a system, regional, or national level. Performance indicators that are traditionally used to evaluate transit systems are ratios of a service output to a resource input or a service consumption measure. This paper discusses a method that evaluates the relative performance of a group of transit systems considering multiple input and output measures. The proposed method is not intended to provide a conclusive evaluation of transit systems, rather to answer the question of how efficient is each of the transit systems analyzed, relative to the other systems considered in the analysis, in terms of allocating resources to provide service. For a selected group of bus transit systems, the proposed procedure is used to identify both technical and scale inefficiencies, meaning inefficiencies related to the production and consumption of service, and to disadvantageous operating conditions. The most efficient systems within the group are identified, while for the remaining systems the types and sources of inefficiency are determined. The procedure is based on data envelopment analysis, a relatively new area in the field of operations research and management science.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Athanassopoulos, A. D., Lambroukos, N., and Seiford, L. ( 1999). “Data envelopment scenario analysis for setting targets to electricity generating plants.” Eur. J. Operational Res., 115(3), 413–429.
2.
Banker, R. D., Charnes, A., and Cooper, W. W. ( 1984). “Some models for estimating technical and scale inefficiencies in data envelopment analysis.” Mgmt. Sci., 30(9), 1078–1092.
3.
Banker, R. D., and Thrall, R. ( 1992). “Estimation of returns to scale using data envelopment analysis.” Eur. J. Operational Res., 22(1), 74–84.
4.
Butler, T. W., and Johnson, W. W. ( 1997). “Efficiency evaluation of Michigan prisons using data envelopment analysis.” Criminal Justice Rev., 22(1), 1–21.
5.
Charnes, A., Cooper, W. W., Lewin, A. Y., and Seiford, L. M. ( 1994). Data envelopment analysis: Theory, methodology, and applications, Kluwer, Boston.
6.
Charnes, A., Cooper, W. W., and Rhodes, E. ( 1978). “Measuring the efficiency of decision making units.” Eur. J. Operational Res., 2(6), 429–444.
7.
Chitkara, P. ( 1998). “A data envelopment analysis approach to evaluation of operational inefficiencies in power generating units: A case study of Indian power plants.” IEEE Power Engrg. Rev., 18(9), 48–67.
8.
Chu, X., Fielding, G. J., and Lamar, B. W. ( 1992). “Measuring transit performance using data envelopment analysis.” Transp. Res. Part A, Policy and Pract., 26(3), 223–230.
9.
Cooper, W. W., Seiford, L. M., and Tone, K. ( 2000). Data envelopment analysis—A comprehensive text with models, applications, references and DEA solver software, Kluwer, Norwell, Mass.
10.
Data tables for the 1998 national transit database report year. (1998). Federal Transit Administration, Washington, D.C.
11.
Farrell, M. J. ( 1957). “The measurement of productive efficiency.” J. Royal Statistical Soc. A, 120, 253–281.
12.
Fielding, G. J., Glauthier, and Lave, C. A. ( 1978). “Performance indicators for transit management.” Transp., 7, 365–379.
13.
Freund, R. J., and Minton, P. D. ( 1979). Regression methods: A tool for data analysis, Marcel Dekker, New York.
14.
Fraser, I., and Cordina, D. ( 1999). “An application of data envelopment analysis to irrigated dairy farms in northern Victoria, Australia.” Agric. Sys., 59(3), 267.
15.
Garcia, F., Marcuello, C., Serrano, D., and Urbina, O. ( 1999). “Evaluation of efficiency in primary health care centres: An Application of data envelopment analysis.” Financial Accountability & Mgmt. in Governments, Public Services, and Charities, 15(1), 67–78.
16.
LINDO. (1996). Release 6.0, LINDO Systems, Chicago.
17.
Norman, M., and Stoker, B. ( 1991). Data envelopment analysis the assessment of performance, Wiley, West Sussex, U.K.
18.
Odeck, J., and Hjalmarsson, L. ( 1996). “The performance of trucks—An evaluation using data envelopment analysis.” Transp. Plng. and Technol., 20(1), 49–66.
19.
Parkin, D., and Hollingsworth, B. ( 1997). “Measuring production efficiency of acute hospitals in Scotland, 1991–1994: Validity issues in data envelopment analysis.” Appl. Economics, 29(11), 1425–1433.
20.
A companion for fixed-route service evaluation and monitoring manual, Pennsylvania Transportation Resource and Information Network, Harrisburg, Pa.
21.
Sarrico, C. S., Hogan, S. M., Dyson, R. G., and Athanassopoulos, A. D. ( 1997). “Data envelopment analysis and university selection.” The J. Operational Res. Soc., 48(12), 1163–1177.
22.
Seiford, L. M. ( 1997). “A bibliography for data envelopment analysis (1978–1996).” Ann. Operations Res., Vol. 73, 393–438.
23.
Soteriou, A. C., and Zenios, S. A. ( 1999). “Using data envelopment analysis for costing bank products.” Eur. J. Operational Res., 114(2), 234–251.
24.
Tomazinis, A. R. ( 1977). “A study of efficiency indicators of urban public transportation systems.” Final Rep., DOT-TST-77-47, USDOT, Washington, D.C.
25.
Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). ( 1995). Synthesis of transit practice 10. Bus route evaluation standards, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
26.
APTANet Transit Statistics, 〈http://www. apta.com/stats/index.htm〉 (June 10, 1999).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 127 • Issue 3 • June 2001
Pages: 187 - 194
History
Received: Jul 19, 1999
Published online: Jun 1, 2001
Published in print: Jun 2001
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.