Investigating transit production and performance: a programming approach

Although efficiency and productivity are closely related issues, they have been generally examined separately in the transit literature. Using an extensive panel data set, this analysis extends prior research in two directions. First, efficiency rankings and efficient subsets of transit systems are obtained through data envelopment analysis (DEA), a non-parametric linear programming based methodology. Second, based on the results of the DEA analysis, globally efficient frontier production functions, in the context of transit operations in the United States, are built. The results indicate that when jointly considered, there is an improvement on both the theoretical and empirical aspects of examining efficiency and production in transit systems. Further, the results indicate that efficiency and returns to scale findings differ substantially depending on the evaluation methodology used.     

Strategic management of organizational turnarounds in the transit industry

The traditional wisdom that there are increasing returns to scale among bus transit systems has been shaken with recent research findings. The implication from the literature is that unless many transit systems restructure along new organizational lines the financial and service provision difficulties will continue. Very few public transit systems have attempted to strategically manage change and turnaround organizationally.The objectives of this research were to identify the salient factors in organizational turnarounds and to determine whether these factors were evident within transit organizations that have attempted to manage change strategically. The author reviewed the corporate turnaround literature and conducted four case studies of strategic planning/management within the transit industry.All four cases exhibited organizational declines or perceived declines as imminent. They initiated turnarounds through reorganizations and efforts at strategic management. The reorganizations that occurred at all four cases were relatively minor, involving some changes in function. Only minor changes in management occurred and commitment to strategic management varied. Strategic objectives were not quantifiable. All of the cases could have improved their communication below the middle-management levels. The measures of performance in general did not relate a specific strategy and program to a particular turnaround effect. Through management commitment and some minor organizational restructuring two cases achieved some degree of turnaround. Total commitment to strategic management, organizational change, adequate communication, and accurate performance measures are keys to definitive turnarounds.     

Decision making processes governing federal expenditures within the transportation sector of the United States

The current process for allocating federal funds within the transportation sector of the U. S. is dominated by concerns for territorial equity, administrative feasibility, technical feasibility, and national defense. Economic efficiency as a long range objective is conspicuous by its absence except insofar as it is embodied in the desire to promote the commerce of the nation.Federal allocations for highways, waterways, and maritime subsidies are declining relative to urban public transit, and Coast Guard navigation related expenditures. Environmental considerations and obvious failure in the case of maritime subsidies appear to be the major reasons. Airport and airway allocations will be subject to the same negative forces.The next massive transportation program to appear in the federal budget other than urban public transit is likely to involve the national railway system. The big question here is how the money will be handed out. Economists and planners so far appear to have had little interest or impact in this difficult and crucial area of public decision making.Former Senior Economist, Policy and Plans Development, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, U. S. Department of Transportation. Presently Advisor to the Government of Ethiopia with the Harvard University Development Advisory Service.     

New evidence on walking distances to transit stops: identifying redundancies and gaps using variable service areas

The percentage of the population being served by a transit system in a metropolitan region is a key system performance measure but depends heavily on the definition of service area. Observing existing service areas can help identify transit system gaps and redundancies. In the public transit industry, buffers at 400 m (0.25 miles) around bus stops and 800 m (0.5 miles) around rail stations are commonly used to identify the area from which most transit users will access the system by foot. This study uses detailed OD survey information to generate service areas that define walking catchment areas around transit services in Montreal, Canada. The 85th percentile walking distance to bus transit service is found to be around 524 m for home-based trip origins, 1,259 m for home-based commuter rail trip origins. Yet these values are found to vary based on our analysis using two statistical models. Walking distances vary based on route and trip qualities (such as type of transit service, transfers and wait time), as well as personal, household, and neighbourhood characteristics. Accordingly, service areas around transit stations should vary based on the service offered and attributes of the people and places served. The generated service areas derived from the generalized statistical model are then used to identify gaps and redundancies at the system and route level using Montreal region as an example. This study can be of benefit to transport engineers and planners trying to maximize transit service coverage in a region while avoiding oversupply of service.     

Performance indicators for transit management

Transit performance can be evaluated through quantitative indicators. As the provision of efficient and effective transit service are appropriate goals to be encouraged by federal and state governments, these goals are used to develop performance indicators.Three efficiency and four effectiveness indicators are described, together with two overall indicators. These nine indicators are analyzed for comparability utilizing operating and financial data collected from public transit agencies in California.Performance indicators selected for this study should not be viewed as final. Twenty-one performance indicators proposed by previous studies were reviewed. Theoretical considerations and unavailability or unreliability of data caused omission of several useful measures like passenger-miles. Circumstances such as improved data, emphasis upon goals other than efficiency and effectiveness, and local conditions might warrant the inclusion of indicators deleted from this research.This paper is based on work conducted for the Urban Mass Transportation Administration under University Research and Training Grant CA-11-0014, Development of Performance Indicators for Transit. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the University of California or the United States Government. We are indebted to John Feren for assistance with the statistical processing and data gathering.     

A standalone-cost costing methodology for a multiservice transit firm

Every multiservice transit firm faces the problem of determining the share of the firm's costs to be borne by each service. A standalone-cost costing methodology for determining such cost shares is proposed. This costing methodology may also be used to investigate the cost efficiency or inefficiency of a multiservice transit firm. The applicability of the methodology is demonstrated in applying it to a multiservice public transit firm, the Tidewater Transportation District Commission, by estimating standalone costs using a statistical cost function for the organization. In addition to multiservice transit firms, the methodology may also be applied to any type of multiservice transportation firm.     

Bus Transit Service Reliability and Improvement Strategies: Integrating the Perspectives of Passengers and Transit Agencies in North America

Abstract

Transit agencies are consistently trying to improve service reliability and attract new passengers by employing various strategies. Previous literature reviews have focused on either passengers' or transit agencies' perspectives on service reliability. However, none of the earlier reviews have simultaneously addressed these differing perspectives on service reliability in an integrated manner. In response to this gap in the literature, this paper first reviews previous work on passengers' perspectives of transit service reliability and their response to service adjustments made by different agencies. Second, it analyzes transit agencies' plans and reports regarding their reliability goals and used strategies in order to improve service reliability, while looking at the impacts of these strategies on service. Reviewing these two parts together provides a needed contribution to the literature from a practical viewpoint since it allows for the identification of gaps in the public transit planning and operations field in the area of reliability and provides transit planners and decision makers with effective and valuable policy-relevant information.     

Big data in public transportation: a review of sources and methods

ABSTRACT

The collection of big data, as an alternative to traditional resource-intensive manual data collection approaches, has become significantly more feasible over the past decade. The availability of such data, coupled with more sophisticated predictive statistical techniques, has contributed to an increase in attention towards the application of these data, particularly for transportation analysis. Within the transportation literature, there is a growing emphasis on developing sources of commonly collected public transportation data into more powerful analytical tools. A commonly held belief is that application of big data to transportation problems will yield new insights previously unattainable through traditional transportation data sets. However, there exist many ambiguities related to what constitutes big data, the ethical implications of big data collection and application, and how to best utilize the emerging data sets. The existing literature exploring big data provides no clear and consistent definition. While the collection of big data has grown and its application in both research and practice continues to expand, there is a significant disparity between methods of analysis applied to such data. This paper summarizes the recent literature on sources of big data and commonly applied methods used in its application to public transportation problems. We assess predominant big data sources, most frequently studied topics, and methodologies employed. The literature suggests smart card and automated data are the two big data sources most frequently used by researchers to conduct public transit analyses. The studies reviewed indicate that big data has largely been used to understand transit users’ travel behavior and to assess public transit service quality. The techniques reported in the literature largely mirror those used with smaller data sets. The application of more advanced statistical methods, commonly associated with big data, has been limited to a small number of studies. In order to fully capture the value of big data, new approaches to analysis will be necessary.     

Joint development at transit stations in the United States

Joint development, as the term is generally used in connection with transit systems in the United States, is real estate development that is closely linked to public transportation services and station facilities, and takes advantage of the market and locational advantages provided by them. Research conducted by LEK Associates for the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) suggests that, in addition to helping shape urban growth and land development, joint development is also a surprisingly effective means of increasing transit system ridership and farebox revenues, as well as a source of increasingly significant revenues from the sale or lease of air rights.The completion of nine joint development projects in as many different cities, started under the former Urban Initiatives Program, for example, net additional annual ridership might reach 12000000 one-way trips. Net additional annual farebox revenues might reach over $9000000. This added revenue would be sufficient to repay the $62 million combined UMTA/transit operator investment in the nine projects, exclusive of the costs of the basic transit system improvements around which the projects are planned, in less than six years.Among transit authority-administered joint development programs examined in a separate study, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has had the most success in generating significant value capture income. For example, the cumulative revenue realized by WMATA from just six joint development projects in the Washington, DC region, through September 1983 exceeded $ 6.9 million. Projections through fiscal year 1986 indicate cumulative revenues approximating $ 28 million will be received from developer leases.     

An analysis of the 1968 rapid transit vote in Los Angeles

Analysis of the results of past mass transit bond issues can aid transportation planners in understanding and anticipating voter behavior. This paper reports the results of an analysis of the 1968 rapid transit bond issue vote in Los Angeles, California. The simple relationships of the vote to a variety of possible explanatory variables are first examined. An attempt to assess the relative independent importance of these variables and to offer a partial explanation of the vote using multiple regression analysis is then presented. Variables found to have had the greatest impact on the vote are proximity to the proposed transit system, income-level, and ethnicity. Variables found to have had little or no effect, on the other hand, are population density, age, partisanship, and election turnout rate. The analysis indicates that the frequently used mood-of-the-electorate explanation of bond-issue failures in general, and transit proposals in particular, underestimates the quality of the electoral decision. The electorate does make rational distinctions, and future bonding attempts will confront voters capable of perceiving the utility to them of proposed transit systems and voting accordingly. The policy implications of this analysis suggest that the design of future mass transit proposals should, firstly more explicitly attempt to incorporate the preferences of middle-income voters, and secondly, be part of a comprehensive transit plan for the entire metropolitan area.     

Subsidy and public transit performance: A factor analytic approach

The need to measure and evaluate transit system performance has led to the development of numerous performance indicators. However, depending upon the indicator, we oftentimes reach different conclusions regarding transit system performance. The research reported in this paper uses factor analytic methods to generate a set of underlying attributes (factors) that capture the performance of public transit systems in Indiana. Similar to what is reported in the literature, this study finds three attributes that best describe transit system performance: efficiency, effectiveness, and overall performance. Based upon systemsÕ factor scores, the study finds that systems scoring highly on one attribute generally perform well on the remaining attributes. Further, there is an inverse relationship between system performance and subsidies, a finding that supports performance based subsidy allocations.     

The auto versus transit controversy: Toward a rational synthesis for urban transportation policy

Considerable portion of academic literature on urban transportation has been supportive of policies which resulted in extensive urban freeway construction, but highly critical of public investments in transit. This paper challenges these views and points out many flaws in their basic arguments. Criticism of rail transit is particularly emotionally biased and it is in direct conflict with real world trends: the number of cities in the United States and other countries which have constructed rail transit as a key element of their viability has steadily increased in the last two decades. For solution of the present serious urban transportation problems, there should be a rational policy which recognizes capabilities of different modes and leads to their optimal coordination in a multimodal system.     

Effects of contracting on cost efficiency in US fixed-route bus transit service

Contracted service comprises a significant proportion of total operating expenses in the provision of fixed-route bus transit service in the US. Despite its importance, the literature on the economic effects of transit service contracting has been limited to only a few studies since the mid-1990s, and is inconclusive due to problems with the nature and methodology of the past studies.This paper examines how the cost efficiency of providing fixed-route bus transit service varies by the degree of contracting. I make several improvements to previous studies and conduct a regression analysis that: (1) addresses the endogeneity problem between the contracting decision and cost efficiency, (2) differentiates between agencies that contract out only a portion of service from those that contract out all service, (3) takes into account the moderating effects of several factors on the effect of contracting on cost efficiency, and (4) uses a relatively larger set of cross-sectional time-series data constructed from the National Transit Database from 1992 to 2000.The analysis results show that the combined effects of contracting lower operating costs by $4.09 and $2.89 per vehicle hour for partial and full-contracting agencies, respectively, in the average case. These average cost savings translate into 7.8% and 5.5%, using the average operating cost per vehicle hour of $53.06. However, this improvement is not universal, because the effects of contracting on cost efficiency vary by factors such as peak-to-base ratio, agency size, the wage gap between bus operators in the public and private sectors, and agency type.     

Estimating multimodal transit ridership with a varying fare structure

This paper studies public transport demand by estimating a system of equations for multimodal transit systems where different modes may act competitively or cooperatively. Using data from Athens, Greece, we explicitly correct for higher-order serial correlation in the error terms and investigate two, largely overlooked, questions in the transit literature; first, whether a varying fare structure in a multimodal transit system affects demand and, second, what the determinants of ticket versus travelcard sales may be. Model estimation results suggest that the effect of fare type on ridership levels in a multimodal system varies by mode and by relative ticket to travelcard prices. Further, regardless of competition or cooperation between modes, fare increases will have limited effects on ridership, but the magnitude of these effects does depend on the relative ticket to travelcard prices. Finally, incorrectly assuming serial independence for the error terms during model estimation could yield upward or downward biased parameters and hence result in incorrect inferences and policy recommendations.     

Examining the influence of multidestination service orientation on transit service productivity: a multivariate analysis

Between 1990 and 2000, U.S. transit agencies added service and increased ridership, but the ridership increase failed to keep pace with the service increase. The result was a decline in service effectiveness (or productivity). This marks the continuation of a long-running and often-studied trend. The scholarly literature attributes this phenomenon, at least in part, to transit agency decisions to decentralize their service rather than focus on serving the traditional CBD market. Many scholars argue that a decentralized service orientation is both ineffective and inefficient because it attracts few riders and requires large per-rider subsidies. This research tests whether a non-traditional, decentralized service orientation, called multidestination service, results in reduced service productivity. Contrary to what the literature suggests, we find that MSAs whose transit agencies pursued a multidestination service orientation did not experience lower productivity. These results indicate that policies that have encouraged the growth of decentralized transit services have not necessarily been detrimental to the industry.

Performance indicators for public transit connectivity in multi-modal transportation networks

Connectivity plays a crucial role as agencies at the federal and state level focus on expanding the public transit system to meet the demands of a multimodal transportation system. Transit agencies have a need to explore mechanisms to improve connectivity by improving transit service. This requires a systemic approach to develop measures that can prioritize the allocation of funding to locations that provide greater connectivity, or in some cases direct funding towards underperforming areas. The concept of connectivity is well documented in social network literature and to some extent, transportation engineering literature. However, connectivity measures have limited capability to analyze multi-modal public transportation systems which are much more complex in nature than highway networks.In this paper, we propose measures to determine connectivity from a graph theoretical approach for all levels of transit service coverage integrating routes, schedules, socio-economic, demographic and spatial activity patterns. The objective of using connectivity as an indicator is to quantify and evaluate transit service in terms of prioritizing transit locations for funding; providing service delivery strategies, especially for areas with large multi-jurisdictional, multi-modal transit networks; providing an indicator of multi-level transit capacity for planning purposes; assessing the effectiveness and efficiency for node/stop prioritization; and making a user friendly tool to determine locations with highest connectivity while choosing transit as a mode of travel. An example problem shows how the graph theoretical approach can be used as a tool to incorporate transit specific variables in the indicator formulations and compares the advantage of the proposed approach compared to its previous counterparts. Then the proposed framework is applied to the comprehensive transit network in the Washington–Baltimore region. The proposed analysis offers reliable indicators that can be used as tools for determining the transit connectivity of a multimodal transportation network.     

Analyzing year-to-year changes in public transport passenger behaviour using smart card data

In recent years, there has been increased interest in using completely anonymized data from smart card collection systems to better understand the behavioural habits of public transport passengers. Such an understanding can benefit urban transport planners as well as urban modelling by providing simulation models with realistic mobility patterns of transit networks. In particular, the study of temporal activities has elicited substantial interest. In this regard, a number of methods have been developed in the literature for this type of analysis, most using clustering approaches. This paper presents a two-level generative model that applies the Gaussian mixture model to regroup passengers based on their temporal habits in their public transportation usage. The strength of the proposed methodology is that it can model a continuous representation of time instead of having to employ discrete time bins. For each cluster, the approach provides typical temporal patterns that enable easy interpretation. The experiments are performed on five years of data collected by the Société de transport de l’Outaouais. The results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach in identifying a reduced set of passenger clusters linked to their fare types. A five-year longitudinal analysis also shows the relative stability of public transport usage.     

Evaluation of Potentially Successful Barge Innovations

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to analyse the changes in productivity of the Taiwan Bus Transit System (TBTS) before and after the execution of the ‘Alternatives for Promoting the Development of the Public Transportation Sectors’ (APDPTS), which is designed to provide a better operating environment for the public transport sector in the provision of public transit services. We use a decomposition of the Malmquist productivity index to locate the sources of productivity growth, namely technical change and efficiency change. The former is further decomposed into an output bias, an input bias and a magnitude term to test neutrality. The latter is also decomposed into changes in pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency. In our case, between the pre‐ and post‐APDPTS periods, the efficiency increased only marginally. As a result of a five‐year enhancement programme, the technical regress slowed down slightly, and inward neutral shifts of a transformation frontier were interpreted as being the main contributor to technical regress. In particular, evidence of biased technical change was found, i.e., the effects of output capability increased slightly, but the efficient use of inputs declined during the post‐APDPTS period.     

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.     

Priority for public transit in Germany

Priority for public transit includes a large variety of measures, including improvements to infrastructure and vehicles. For vehicles, the low floor concept is of particular importance. The central points of priority measures, however, are improvements of traffic control by traffic signals. Here, an improved sensitivity regarding public transit vehicles is the key to a remarkable reduction of factors causing delay. Different techniques for a traffic actuated signal control and different strategies regarding the degree of priority are applied. Thus, especially the reliability of public transit operations is increased. The priority efforts must be embedded in an integrated plan covering the whole urban or metropolitan transportation system.