Efficiency and effectiveness in the urban public transport sector: A critical review with directions for future research

Urban rail transit system operation performance evaluation results are important for government, transit operators and passengers. In this paper, we formulate an entropy-Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) Method to evaluate the urban rail transit system’s operation performance from the operator’s, passenger’s and government’s perspectives. Firstly, we establish the evaluation indicator system with 8 indicators and a total of 41 sub-indicators, the operational data of the 41 sub-indicators will be used as the input of the approach. Second, we formulate our new approach to obtain the performance evaluation: the Entropy Weight Method (EWM) will be used to calculate the weight of each sub-indicator; the product of the corresponding probability and weight will be used to formulate the performance from operator’s, passenger’s and government’s perspectives; the TOPSIS will be used to calculate the comprehensive evaluation values and rankings of performance for each month. Third, the Chengdu subway with 34 months initial data will be chosen as the case study to test our new approach, the related suggestions to the government, to the passengers as well as the operators and managers will also be given.

Using entropy-TOPSIS method to evaluate urban rail transit system operation performance: The China case

This paper investigates how the ownership and the procedure for the selection of firms operating in the local public transport sector affect their productivity. In order to compare different institutional regimes, we carry out a comparative analysis of 72 companies operating in large European cities. This allows us to consider firms selected either through competitive tendering or negotiated procedures. The analysis of the data on 77 European firms over the period 1997-2006 indicates that firms operate under constant returns to scale. Retrieving the residuals we obtain a measure of total factor productivity, which we regress on firm and city characteristics. We find that when firms are totally or partially in public hands their productivity is lower. Moreover, firms selected through competitive tendering display higher total factor productivity.

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Do Competition and Ownership Matter? Evidence from Local Public Transport in Europe

This paper investigates how the ownership and the procedure for the selection of …rms operating in the local public transport sector aect their productivity. In order to compare dierent institutional regimes, we carry out a comparative analysis of 72 companies operating in large European cities. This allows us to consider …rms selected either through compet- itive tendering or negotiated procedures. The analysis of the data on 77 European …rms over the period 1997-2006 indicates that …rms oper- ate under constant returns to scale. Retrieving the residuals we obtain a measure of total factor productivity, which we regress on …rm and city characteristics. We …nd that when …rms are totally or partially in pub- lic hands their productivity is lower. Moreover, …rms selected through competitive tendering display higher total factor productivity.

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Performance evaluation of public transit systems using a combined evaluation method

This article examines the potential impact of ownership on the cost of bus service provision for a sample of 65 private and 12 public companies providing local public transit (LPT) in Piedmont (Italy) from 1998 to 2002. A translog cost frontier is estimated using the model in Battese and Coelli (1995) where inefficiency scores are allowed to vary across firms and over time. A public ownership dummy is included in the inefficiency model and it is always positive and significant. Density and scale economies and cost inefficiencies are then computed. Private companies seem to experience higher density and scale economies than public ones. Cost inefficiencies appear higher in the public sample.

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The impact of ownership on the cost of bus service provision: an example from Italy

The aim of this work is to investigate the risk of anti competitive behaviour implied by temporary groups of service providers. The point bears policy implications as local authorities, following European Union directives, have stressed the role of such alliances in the public procurement of services. We first summarize the fragmented literature on temporary horizontal alliances in public works and services. We then deal with a case study on local public transport in order to evaluate the performance of temporary groups of service providers. The coopetitive perspective is finally discussed as an explanation stressing that, within firms’ groups, both processes of value creation and value sharing take place.

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Hybrid Organisations in the provision of Local Public Services

Il lavoro presenta un primo tentativo di valutazione degli effetti della riforma del trasporto pubblico locale in Piemonte,dove il decreto Burlando del 1997 ha trovato applicazione con la legge 1/2000. La costruzione di un data base che copre quasi tutte le imprese interessate per il periodo 1998-2002, distinguendole anche a seconda della proprietà, ha consentito di verificare le modificazioni intervenute nella struttura e di costruire appropriati indicatori di efficienza tecnica ed economica, ivi compresa una semplice applicazione della DEA .Si è così potuto rilevare che la concentrazione delle imprese in Piemonte, comunque aumentata nel periodo per effetto della fusione di ATM e SATTI in GTT, non offre una appropriata descrizione della struttura dell’industria, che è in realtà tutta organizzata in Associazioni Temporanee di Impresa (ATI) .Gli indicatori di efficienza tecnica ed economica mostrano in media attraverso la DEA un lieve miglioramento , ma le performance di produttività e costo delle imprese pubbliche risultano inferiori a quelle delle imprese private. Parole chiave .trasporto pubblico locale, ATI , DEA JEL: L9 . i Mailing address: Dipartimento di Economia, Via Po n. 53 10124 Torino Italy; E-mail: graziella.fornengo@unito.it tel. +39 011 6702732 ii Mailing address: Dipartimento di Economia, Via Po n. 53, 10124 Torino Italy; E-mail: elisabetta.ottoz@unito.it tel. +39 011 6702739

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La riforma del trasporto pubblico locale: effetti sulla struttura e l'efficienza delle imprese pubbliche e private nel caso del Piemonte

The paper analyses, for the period 1998-2002, the effects of the reform of local public
transit in Piedmont on the structure and efficiency of the regional bus transport industry. A data base covering almost all the firms concerned allows to distinguish the performances of private and public-owned firms. The industry became more concentrated after the merger (2002) between the two large public-owned firms operating in the metropolitan area and the widespread diffusion of informal groups of economic operators not assuming a specific legal form, ATI in Italian. Technical and economic efficiency
indicators, as well as a DEA application, show on average a slight improvement at the end of the period, with poorer performances for the public owned companies.

Graziella Fornengo

Papers

The impact of ownership on the cost of bus service provision: an example from Italy

Hybrid Organisations in the provision of Local Public Services

La riforma del trasporto pubblico locale: effetti sulla struttura e l'efficienza delle imprese pubbliche e private nel caso del Piemonte

La riforma del trasporto pubblico locale. Il caso del Piemonte