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The efficiency of Norwegian road toll companies

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  • Welde, Morten
  • Odeck, James

Abstract

This paper analyses the level of efficiency at which road toll companies are operated in Norway. Two alternative methods are applied for this purpose: data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). The data comprise a total of 20 toll companies that have been in operation in the period 2003–2008. The findings of the paper are as follows: 1) There is a great potential for efficiency improvement in the sector, irrespective of the method used, but the variation in the efficiency scores is dependent on the method used; 2) there is no evidence of economies of scale, as has been found by other authors, such as Odeck 2008, How efficient and productive are road toll companies? Evidence from Norway, Transport Policy. 15, 232–241 and, Amdal, E., Bårdsen, G., Johansen K. and Welde M., 2007. Operating costs in Norwegian toll companies: a panel data analysis. Transportation. 34, 681–695. These results suggest that toll companies could generate significant savings by employing industry best practices. Further, decision makers are warned not to be indifferent to the approach used i.e., DEA and SFA, as these may give very different results.

Suggested Citation

  • Welde, Morten & Odeck, James, 2011. "The efficiency of Norwegian road toll companies," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 162-171.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juipol:v:19:y:2011:i:3:p:162-171
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jup.2011.03.001
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    2. Albalate, Daniel & Rosell, Jordi, 2019. "On the efficiency of toll motorway companies in Spain," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    3. Baños-Pino, José F. & Boto-García, David & Zapico, Emma, 2021. "Persistence and dynamics in the efficiency of toll motorways: The Spanish case," Efficiency Series Papers 2021/03, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    4. Foster,Vivien & Rana,Anshul & Gorgulu,Nisan, 2022. "Understanding Public Spending Trends for Infrastructure in Developing Countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9903, The World Bank.
    5. Sarmento, Joaquim Miranda & Renneboog, Luc & Verga-Matos, Pedro, 2017. "Measuring highway efficiency : A DEA approach and the Malquist index," Other publications TiSEM 23264815-321e-45a3-83ee-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. Odeck, James, 2019. "Estimating and predicting the operational costs of road tolls: An econometric assessment using panel data," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 466-478.
    7. Antonio Ramos Andrade & Julian Stow, 2017. "Assessing the efficiency of maintenance operators: A case study of turning railway wheelsets on an under-floor wheel lathe," Journal of Risk and Reliability, , vol. 231(2), pages 155-163, April.
    8. Yarmukhamedov, Sherzod & Smith, Andrew S.J. & Thiebaud, Jean-Christophe, 2020. "Competitive tendering, ownership and cost efficiency in road maintenance services in Sweden: A panel data analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 194-204.
    9. Odeck, James, 2017. "Government versus toll funding of road projects – A theoretical consideration with an ex-post evaluation of implemented toll projects," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 97-107.
    10. Li, Yanling & Xu, Yan & Zheng, Yingjie & Cao, Sheng & Wu, Zhenni & Song, Yijin, 2024. "Management efficiency of Chinese toll road operating companies and influencing factors," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    11. Daniel Albalate & Jordi Rosell, 2016. "Persistent and transient efficiency on the stochastic production and cost frontiers – an application to the motorway sector," Working Papers XREAP2016-04, Xarxa de Referència en Economia Aplicada (XREAP), revised Oct 2016.
    12. Baños-Pino, José F. & Boto-García, David & Zapico, Emma, 2022. "Persistence and dynamics in the efficiency of toll motorways: The Spanish case," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    13. Julia Numrich & Sascha Ruja & Stefan Voß, 2012. "Global Navigation Satellite System based tolling: state-of-the-art," Netnomics, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 93-123, July.
    14. Wanke, Peter & Barros, C.P. & Figueiredo, Otávio, 2016. "Efficiency and productive slacks in urban transportation modes: A two-stage SDEA-Beta Regression approach," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 31-39.
    15. Zapico, Emma & Baños-Pino, José F. & Mayor, Matías, 2024. "Optimal toll rates accounting for traffic accidents: A productive efficiency approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).

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