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

Purpose 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, socio-economic, 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 efficiency – ticket 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. Document type: Articl

Železnice a evropská dopravní politika - ideje, strategie, nástroje a jejich aplikace.

Kniha uzavírá monografickou ediční řadu Železniční reformy jako její 6. svazek; předchozí svazky se zabývaly jednotlivými aspekty železniční dopravy: modelováním poptávky po přepravě a její predikcí, regulací konkurenčního prostředí na železnici, konkrétními příběhy reforem odvětví ve Velké Británii a v Německu a ekonomickým zhodnocením liberalizace železničních systémů v Evropě. Tento poslední svazek je věnován komplexní analýze a zhodnocení dopravní politiky ve vztahu k železnicím v zemích Evropské unie. Dopravní politika má v rámci hospodářské politiky Evropské unie, národních států, jednotlivých regionů i měst významné postavení, neboť vzhledem k omezenosti přírodních zdrojů a současně rostoucí poptávce po přepravních službách jsou stále naléhavější fiskální, strategické, environmentální a sociální cíle. Celá kniha je rozdělena celkem do šesti kapitol, které tvoří uzavřené celky, jsou zaměřené na určitý aspekt dopravní politiky na železnici a jsou vždy zakončeny dílčím závěrem. Současně však na sebe kapitoly logicky navazují, doplňují se a tvoří tak jeden celek, z nějž je možné odvodit celkové závěry a doporučení.This monograph deals with the issue of the organization and regulation of transport systems and, above all, the rail transport segment, which is extremely complex in terms of planning, financing and regulation. The book concludes the monographic edition “Railway Reforms” as its 6th volume; the previous volumes addressed individual aspects of rail trans-port: modeling demand for transport and its prediction, regulating the competitive environ-ment on the railways, specific stories of sectoral reforms in the UK and Germany, and eco-nomic appreciation of the liberalization of railway systems in Europe. This last volume is devoted to a comprehensive analysis and assessment of transport policy in relation to the railways in the countries of the European Union. Transport policy has a significant role to play in the economic policy of the European Union, national states, regions and cities, given the scarcity of natural resources and the growing demand for transport services, with fiscal, strategic, environmental and social goals being increasingly urgent. The entire book is divi-ded into six chapters, which form closed units, are focused on a certain aspect of transport policy on the railway and are always concluded by a partial conclusion. At the same time, however, the chapters logically follow and complement each other, forming a whole, from which it is possible to derive overall conclusions and recommendations

European railway reforms and efficiency: Review of evidence in the literature

The objective of the European railway reforms which started in the 1990s was to enable the entry of competition to raise the efficiency of railway transport. This was undertaken because the level of services, particularly in former Eastern Bloc countries, was very low due to neglected investment, and so railway transport market share was in decline. The primary goal of this text is to determine based on available empirical studies whether the reforms affected the efficiency of the railway sector positively, and the secondary aim is to identify the factors which complicate evaluation of the reforms’ impact. According to empirical studies, the effect of competition on efficiency is unclear. The reforms have brought the most benefit to consumers, but their overall effect depends on many other factors. Competition for the market appeared to be a better way of implementing competition than competition in the market. In addition, comprehension of the problems complicating the analysis and their inclusion in the evaluation process constitutes an important point in evaluating the reforms’ effects and could be inspiring for countries that have not yet implemented all reforms

Comparison of urban public transport systems in the Czech Republic and Slovakia: Factors underpinning efficiency

Increasing traffic congestion and growing interest in environmental issues make public transport the preferred mode in cities. National and local authorities should set operating conditions that enable efficient use of public financial resources. This paper aims at identifying conditions important for efficient urban public transport. We compared urban public transport systems in two countries with similar starting situations due to their unified transport policy until 1993. First, we conducted a two-stage efficiency analysis based on separate calculations of production frontiers using data envelopment analysis and subsequent tobit regression to identify the impact of contextual variables. For more robust results, we also used stochastic frontier analysis and a bias-corrected bootstrap method to calculate efficiency and its factors in a single step. Higher fares, subsidies, and network density tended towards lower efficiency. In contrast, higher average investment, the existence of a tram system, and the proportion of drivers within total employment increased efficiency. We expected a positive impact from existing integration systems but did not find a significant impact on efficiency. The results are quite robust for all methods applied. Non-parametric tests further revealed that the countries differed in all characteristics except for network density and the proportion of subsidies within costs

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

Abstract Purpose 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, socio-economic, 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 efficiency – ticket 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