AN ASSESSMENT OF THE OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC TRANSIT AGENCIES USING DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS (DEA) TECHNIQUE

摘要

This paper presents a framework for making a comparative assessment of the operationalproductivity and efficiency of various transit agencies. Inputs, such as operating expenses,number of employees, and total fuel consumption and production outputs, are utilized toconstruct relative efficiency scores of selected public transit agencies in Indiana using dataenvelopment analysis (DEA) for a period of eight years (2002-2009). Furthermore, thechanges in productivity over the analysis period were quantified using the Malmquistproductivity index. The Malmquist indices were separated into two components, namely the‘frontier shift’ and ‘catch-up” effects to account for industry-wide productivity changes andindividual agency level changes, respectively. The methodology is expected to help transitmanagers not only assess the performance of their transit systems compared to other peersystems, but also help identify potential areas for improvement. The approach can also beuseful to Indiana Department of Transportation in its processes of transit subsidy allocations.