Measurement of efficiency in urban mass transit via a data envelopment analysis

The objective of this paper is to measure the efficiency of selected mid-sized U.S. urban mass transit agencies during the sample years (1990-1995). Data envelopment analysis is used in the output oriented framework to calculate technical efficiency using four inputs and two outputs. It was found that the size of the firm affected efficiency however many small firms appear to be operating as efficiently as large agencies. Urban density marginally correlated with the efficiency scores generated. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 was examined to determine if it had any effect on the efficiency of the sampled firms. In this study there was no evidence of a change in efficiency over time indicating that this legislation had little effect on the urban bus agencies in the sample. According to the results generated in this study, data envelopment analysis is an effective method of examining efficiency in the urban mass transit industry.