Evaluating the Performance of Public Urban Transportation Systems in India

Abstract

Evaluating the performance of public transportation systems facilitates operational improvement and strategic decisions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative performance of 26 public urban transportation organizations in India using various criteria. We grouped these 19 criteria as Operations, Finance, and Accident-based. First, we evaluated the importance of these criteria groups using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Then, we evaluated the organizations (Decision Making Units, DMUs) using various criteria within each criteria group using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Finally, a Transportation Efficiency Number (TEN) was developed that quantified the overall performance of the DMUs considering the 19 criteria. Included is a discussion on the applicability of this approach, thus helping practicing managers understand the lacuna, if any, and set mutual benchmarks and benefits from the experience of others. This approach helps make strategic decisions for policy-making and achieves better results. IntroductionIn India, more than 30 percent of the population lives in an urban area. Road public transport and railways are the commonly-used modes of local transportation. Hand-pulled, cycle , and auto rickshaws, taxis, and hired two-wheelers (in the state of Goa) are examples of privately-operated road public transport. Buses and specially-designed Bus Rapid Transit Systems (BRTS) are shared modes of local transportation. Various government bodies (such as the state government or municipal corporations) manage the shared mode of road transportation. In this paper, the shared mode of transportation is called a road public transportation system. Literature ReviewEvaluating the performance of a road public transport system is essential for making suitable amendments in its improvement strategy. Various studies have been carried out for evaluating performance in this area. For instance, Cruz et al. (2012) This model represents a consumption process and was used to estimate the production efficiency, service effectiveness, and operational effectiveness of multimodal transit firms. To study the logistics strategy implemented in Guatemala and the United States, an empirical study was conducted by McGinnis et al. (2012). It appeared that the logistics managers in Guatemala were more inclined towards marketing and information strategies rather than process-driven strategies. To measure the service quality in urban bus transport, Barabino et al. (2012) applied a modified SERVQUAL model. The main purpose of the study was to develop an evaluation tool to verify the service quality standard offered. Based on the data collected during a two-week survey, various attributes were confirmed, including on-board security, bus reliability, cleanliness, and bus frequency. With a view toward understanding the areas of improvement of public transportation in Dublin, Kinsella and Caulifield (2011) conducted a survey, the results of which reflected that visitors or newcomers to a city are less concerned with ...

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