Improving the Efficiency of Metropolitan Area Transit by Joint DEA of Its Multiple Providers

This paper provides transit policy makers and managements with a protocol for analyzing the efficiency of an urban area’s non-rail transit when multiple types of service are operated. Procedures are described for estimating (a) the individual technical efficiency of each non-rail transit type, (b) transit’s overall technical efficiency in the urban area, and (c) the effect of each type of transit on the overall technical efficiency. Then, a method is explained for (d) estimating the efficiency with which funds are allocated to the different types of transit, followed by (e) the presentation of a mathematical program for allocating funds to the various types of transit employed by the target agency, with the objective of decreasing the cost of transit in an urban area while holding total transit service constant. The entire protocol is illustrated by applying it to three metropolitan areas, two using four types of transit service and one using three types, with data from the National Transit Database.

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