Determinants of urban public transport efficiency: case study of the Czech Republic

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to identify the factors influencing efficiency of urban public transport (UPT) systems and to benchmark Czech UPT systems according to their efficiency. Methods: The analysis was carried out on a sample of 19 UPT systems in the Czech Republic during 2010-2015. Efficiency was evaluated through a two-stage analysis. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used in the first stage. It was based on three inputs (employees, rolling stock and energy) and one output (passengers). DEA efficiency scores were computed for all 19 systems for each year and under two different assumptions regarding returns to scale. In the second stage of the analysis, DEA scores were used in Tobit regression with a set of operational, socioeconomic , and demographic explanatory variables in order to find determinants of efficiency. Results: Several variables were identified as factors increasing efficiency-proportion of drivers, average vehicle age, the presence of tramlines in the city, total vehicle kilometres, and population density. Some variables were identified as decreasing efficiencyticket price, proportion of subsidies in revenues, and presence of a two-city system. Czech cities with most efficient transport systems were Prague, Brno, Mariánské Lázně, Olomouc, and Pilsen. The least efficient cities were Chomutov-Jirkov, Ostrava, and Děčín. Conclusions: The principal lesson from this study is that bigger cities with greater population densities are more efficient than smaller cities, and the key efficiency factors that local authorities have under their control are the ticket price, rate of subsidies, and structure of the city transport system. The paper contributes to current debate about the efficiency of the urban transport systems and their determinants. There was not much difference between the constant and variable returns to scale results. The results from the second stage could help policy makers make the public transport systems more efficient. Future research could be devoted to gaining data on additional operators which would also enable using additional inputs and outputs for DEA analysis.

Efficiency Evaluation of Bus Transport Operations Given Exogenous Environmental Factors

“…is result is inconsistent with the expectation and with the existing literature [3,12]. Population aggregation is the most direct reflection of urban attraction, competitiveness, and economic development.…”

“…Public transport plays an important role in a city's sustainable development [2]. Consequently, public transport throughout the world is heavily subsidized by local governments [3]. In most countries, financial funds are strictly controlled.…”

“…Serious traffic congestion and environmental pollution are threatening the sustainable development of cites all over the world [2]. e development of public bus transport is considered an effective measure to address the above urban problems [3]. us, efforts to expand and improve bus transport services are necessary for every city.…”

“…Sheth et al [11] took the consideration of environmental pollution as an uncontrolled factor to evaluate the efficiency of urban bus enterprises. Fitzová et al [3] concluded that the uncontrollable environmental factor (population densities) was the determinant of public transport efficiency. Yao et al [12] considered population and car ownership as exogenous environmental indicators.…”

Efficiency Comparison of Municipal Public Transport in the Selected Cities of the Czech Republic

“…One of their main findings was that the efficiency of smaller transport systems which had a difficult access to funding sources was systematically less efficient. In other research, Fitzova et al (2018) identified factors influencing the efficiency of municipal public transport systems and compared Czech municipal public transport systems according to their efficiency. This analysis was performed on a sample of 19 systems in the Czech Republic for the period from 2010 to 2015.…”