A Nonparametric Efficiency Analysis of Shanghai Public Transport Systems

We present a nonparametric comparative efficiency analysis of urban public transport systems (UPTS) in Shanghai (2004-2012). The UPTS include urban public bus transit system (UPBTS) and urban public rail transit system (UPRTS). We apply data envelopment analysis (DEA) to assess the technical, pure technical and scale efficiencies of UPBTS and UPRTS over years. We find the performance of UPBTS and UPRTS are good in general but still have a potential scope for improvement. We also quantitatively analyze the reasons for inefficiency of them in some years and provide potential improvements for inefficient units. Moreover, we observe the efficiency of UPBTS is better despite a good development trend in the efficiency of the UPRTS. We demonstrate the UPRTS during the period 2006-2011 works on decreasing returns to scale (DRS), which indicates the authorities should adjust the UPRTS structure and improve the operational services without blindly expanding the levels of inputs. Our work may help in evaluating the possible enhancement of the operations of the UPTS.