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Evaluating the efficiency of the Essential Air Service program in the United States

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  • Grubesic, Tony H.
  • Wei, Fangwu

Abstract

Essential Air Service (EAS) is a federally funded program in the United States that provides connecting, commercial air service between rural communities and their nearest large or medium commercial hub airport. During fiscal year 2010, $170million dollars were spent to provide this service to 107 communities in the US. However, with significant variations in subsidies to each airport (ranging from $427,757 to $3,082,403) and marked differences in passengers served, there are serious concerns regarding the overall efficiency of the EAS program. The purpose of this paper is to use data envelopment analysis integrated in a geographic information system for evaluating service efficiencies at the community level. Policy implications and strategies to improve the EAS program are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Grubesic, Tony H. & Wei, Fangwu, 2012. "Evaluating the efficiency of the Essential Air Service program in the United States," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1562-1573.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:46:y:2012:i:10:p:1562-1573
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2012.08.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Tony Grubesic & Ran Wei & Alan Murray & Fangwu Wei, 2016. "Essential Air Service in the United States," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 39(1), pages 108-130, January.
    3. Wu, Hanjun & Hong Tsui, Kan Wai & Ngo, Thanh & Lin, Yi-Hsin, 2020. "Impacts of aviation subsidies on regional wellbeing: Systematic review, meta-analysis and future research directions," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 215-239.
    4. Grubesic, Tony H. & Murray, Alan T. & Matisziw, Timothy C., 2013. "A strategic approach for improving rural air transport in the United States," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 117-124.
    5. Wittman, Michael D. & Allroggen, Florian & Malina, Robert, 2016. "Public service obligations for air transport in the United States and Europe: Connectivity effects and value for money," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 112-128.
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    8. Kinene, Alan & Granberg, Tobias Andersson & Polishchuk, Valentin & Rydergren, Clas, 2020. "Decision Support for an Optimal Choice of Subsidised Routes in Air Transportation," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    9. Joshua Hall & Amanda Ross & Christopher Yencha, 2015. "The political economy of the Essential Air Service program," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 165(1), pages 147-164, October.
    10. Ryerson, Megan S. & Kim, Amy M., 2018. "A drive for better air service: How air service imbalances across neighboring regions integrate air and highway demands," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 114(PA), pages 237-255.
    11. Wei, Fangwu & Grubesic, Tony H., 2016. "The pain persists: Exploring the spatiotemporal trends in air fares and itinerary pricing in the United States, 2002–2013," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 107-121.
    12. 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.
    13. Yongha Park & Morton E O’Kelly, 2017. "Exploring accessibility from spatial interaction data: An evaluation of the Essential Air Service (EAS) program in the contiguous US air transport system," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(4), pages 930-951, April.
    14. Wittman, Michael D., 2014. "Public funding of airport incentives in the United States: The efficacy of the Small Community Air Service Development Grant program," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 220-228.
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    16. 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.
    17. Allroggen, Florian & Wittman, Michael D. & Malina, Robert, 2015. "How air transport connects the world – A new metric of air connectivity and its evolution between 1990 and 2012," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 184-201.
    18. Leão e Silva, Celso José & de Andrade, Maurício Oliveira & Falcão, Viviane Adriano & da Silva, Carlos Fabricio Assunção, 2022. "The geographical characteristics of subsidized air routes serving as lifelines," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    19. Celso Jose Leao e Silva & Mauricio Oliveira de Andrade & Viviane Adriano Falcao & Carlos Fabricio Assuncao da Silva, 2024. "Subsidized Regional Airlines as a Sustainable Development Mechanism for Remote Locations Heavily Dependent on Air Transportation," Journal of Sustainable Development, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 14(4), pages 108-108, July.
    20. Wei, Fangwu & Grubesic, Tony H., 2015. "The dehubbing Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG): A spatiotemporal panorama," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 85-98.
    21. Koo, Tay T.R. & Hossein Rashidi, Taha & Park, Jin-Woo & Wu, Cheng-Lung & Tseng, Wen-Chun, 2017. "The effect of enhanced international air access on the demand for peripheral tourism destinations: Evidence from air itinerary choice behaviour of Korean visitors to Australia," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 116-129.
    22. Cidell, Julie, 2014. "Spoke airports, intentional and unintentional ground travel, and the air travel decision-making process," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 113-123.

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