Efficiency measurement in public transport: Are findings specification sensitive?

The need to measure transit system performance along with its various dimensions such as efficiency and effectiveness has led to the development of a wide array of approaches and vast literature. However, depending upon the specific approach used to examine performance, different conclusions are oftentimes reached. Using data from 15 European transit systems for a ten year time period (1990–2000), this paper discusses three important transit performance questions; (i) Do different efficiency assessment methodologies produce similar results? (ii) How are the two basic dimensions of transit performance, namely efficiency and effectiveness, related? and (iii) Are findings regarding organizational regimes (public operations, contracting and so on) sensitive to the methodological specifications employed? Results clearly indicate that efficiency scores and associated recommendations are sensitive to the models used, while efficiency and effectiveness are – albeit weakly – negatively related; these two findings can have far reaching policy implications.

► We discuss whether different efficiency assessment methodologies result in similar findings.
► Findings suggest that efficiency scores and policy recommendations are sensitive to models used.
► Performance assessment based on averages may yield skewed policy recommendations.
► Efficient systems are generally not effective and vice-versa.
► Systems regulated with contracts are more efficient that public systems.