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Evaluating public transit services for operational efficiency and access equity

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  • Wei, Ran
  • Liu, Xiaoyue
  • Mu, Yongjian
  • Wang, Liming
  • Golub, Aaron
  • Farber, Steven

Abstract

Assessing the performance of public transit services has long been an important yet challenging issue for transportation agencies and researchers. Transit service performance measurement reflects a very first step towards an efficient and proactive management, where public transit agencies are increasingly pressured to provide high-quality services in spite of constrained resources. However, the performance evaluation of transit services is complicated by an array of quantitative measures available to assess the goals and the diversity in the goals themselves, which usually include improving operational efficiency and providing equitable access. While much previous work has examined public transit services for achieving optimal operational efficiency and/or access equity separately, the interplay of the two has rarely been investigated to date. This article proposes a new method for evaluating the overall performance of public transit services via a combination of data envelopment analysis (DEA), Geographic Information System (GIS), and multi-objective spatial optimization techniques. The new method is applied to assessing the performance of fixed route bus services operated by the Utah Transit Authorities (UTA) in the Wasatch Front, Utah. Results demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively account for operational efficiency and access equity in an integrated framework, providing a more comprehensive assessment for transit service performance.

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  • Wei, Ran & Liu, Xiaoyue & Mu, Yongjian & Wang, Liming & Golub, Aaron & Farber, Steven, 2017. "Evaluating public transit services for operational efficiency and access equity," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 70-79.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:65:y:2017:i:c:p:70-79
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2017.10.010
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    10. Suzuki, Yu & Hino, Satoru & Kanno, Takafumi & Amemiya, Daigo, 2023. "A study on the possibility of a BUS route network with connections based on an analysis of the efficiency of the BUS route network and resistance OF BUS users to transfer," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    11. Mahmoudi, Reza & Shetab-Boushehri, Seyyed-Nader & Hejazi, Seyed Reza & Emrouznejad, Ali & Rajabi, Parisa, 2019. "A hybrid egalitarian bargaining game-DEA and sustainable network design approach for evaluating, selecting and scheduling urban road construction projects," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 161-183.
    12. Md. Nazmul Huda Naim & Mohammed Sarfaraz Gani Adnan & Ashraf Dewan & Khatun E. Zannat, 2022. "Assessing the performance of public transport services in a developing country: A case study using data envelopment analysis," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 377-409, March.
    13. Zajac, Sandra & Huber, Sandra, 2021. "Objectives and methods in multi-objective routing problems: a survey and classification scheme," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 290(1), pages 1-25.
    14. Ben-Elia, Eran & Benenson, Itzhak, 2019. "A spatially-explicit method for analyzing the equity of transit commuters' accessibility," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 31-42.
    15. Javanmard, Reyhane & Lee, Jinhyung & Kim, Junghwan & Liu, Luyu & Diab, Ehab, 2023. "The impacts of the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) on social equity analysis of public transit reliability," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    16. Pan, Meiyu (Melrose) & Wong, Stephen & Tainter, Francis & Woelfel, Steve & Ryan, Alyssa, 2024. "Integrating equity in transportation scenario planning: A systematic review," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 85-95.
    17. Tian, Qiong & Liu, Peng & Ong, Ghim Ping & Huang, Hai-Jun, 2021. "Morning commuting pattern and crowding pricing in a many-to-one public transit system with heterogeneous users," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    18. Somayeh Dodge & Trisalyn A. Nelson, 2023. "A framework for modern time geography: emphasizing diverse constraints on accessibility," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 357-375, July.
    19. Ji, Wei & Huang, Zhengfeng & Gao, Gao & Zheng, Pengjun, 2024. "Evaluation of integrated transport efficiency and equity at the county level——taking the counties in ningbo city as an example," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 257-272.
    20. Mwesigwa, Leonard & Yin, Zehui & Farber, Steven, 2024. "Evaluating the level of access and equity of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system: The case of Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    21. Yefu Chen & Junfeng Jiao, 2022. "Are There Transit Deserts in Europe? A Study Focusing on Four European Cases through Publicly Available Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    22. N. Nima Haghighi & Xiaoyue Cathy Liu & Ran Wei & Wenwen Li & Hu Shao, 2018. "Using Twitter data for transit performance assessment: a framework for evaluating transit riders’ opinions about quality of service," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 363-377, August.
    23. Rubensson, Isak & Susilo, Yusak & Cats, Oded, 2020. "Fair accessibility – Operationalizing the distributional effects of policy interventions," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).

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