scholarly journals Efficiency and effectiveness in the urban public transport sector: A critical review with directions for future research

2016 ◽  
Vol 248 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cinzia Daraio ◽  
Marco Diana ◽  
Flavia Di Costa ◽  
Claudio Leporelli ◽  
Giorgio Matteucci ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Safwen Ben Neila ◽  
Abderahman Rejeb ◽  
Péter Németh

In recent years, there is a need for new methods and frameworks for planning transport systems, improving their efficiency, and addressing globalisation and sustainability challenges. In addition, the use of existing capacities and infrastructure has raised significant issues in the transport sector. To achieve an economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable logistics ecosystem, Benoit Montreuil introduces the concept of “Physical Internet” (PI) to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of logistics networks. As a ground-breaking transportation philosophy, the PI aims to revolutionise freight and logistics transport. Moreover, the PI can enhance logistics productivity through the organisation of large-scale pooling. Similar to Digital Internet that conveys data, the PI strives to connect, synchronise, and ship regular modular containers from the point of origin to an exact destination, thereby creating robust and collaborative logistics networks. While the literature on the PI is relatively growing, there is still a lack of reviews that synthesise this knowledge body, identify current trends and gaps, and advance the research more broadly.  Therefore, this study aims to investigate the potentials of the PI for the development of sustainable logistics networks. Overall, 59 studies are selected from leading academic databases and further analysed. The review findings reveal that most scholars focus on the optimisation of transport at the tactical and organisational stage while devoting little attention to the contribution of the PI to the social sustainability of logistics compared to the economic and environmental aspects.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 9-15
Author(s):  
Nataliia Vyhovska ◽  
Olena Vyhovska

The purpose of the article is to assess the practice of attracting international sources of financial support for public transportation at the regional level, to identify problems with insufficient effectiveness of the implementation of international financial support projects and the formation of solutions at various system levels. It is determined that the main sources of financing of transport entities are self-financing, lending, state and international financial support. The preconditions for the use of credit funds of international financial donors for financing public transport and the conditions for lending to transport entities are described. Peculiarities of public transport lending by way of implementation of the project "Ukraine Urban Public Transport" are analyzed, and it is highlighted that its purpose is to realize the strategic priorities of the transport industry, institutional reforms and informatization. It is clarified that the responsibility for the performance gaps under the project, defined in the assistance agreements, is allocated to the City Councils and / or public transport entities. An assessment of international financial support is made and the reasons for short receipt of funds by transport companies from international financial organizations are specified. The amount of losses on incomplete implementation of the plan of expenditures and provision of credits for the realization of projects in the transport sector of Ukraine is clarified. Inefficiency in finding additional sources of financing of the project "Ukraine Urban Public Transport" is justified due to the impossibility to allocate financial responsibility to a certain project group in case of delay in non-implementation of the project plan at all levels. The organizational and financial mechanism of providing international financing for urban public transport by the European Investment Bank is proposed. It is argued that the mentioned mechanism, in contrast to the existing ones, identifies control points for the flow of financial resources, which provides an opportunity to suggest ways to intensify control activities by observers of the European Investment Bank and the public. The main disadvantage of receiving financing from the European Investment Bank in the framework of the project "Ukraine Urban Public Transport" is identified: obligations to pay VAT to the State budget are allocated to the business entity of the transport sector. The problems of inefficiency of implementation of financing sources of international financial organizations (on the example of the European Investment Bank) are identified and the directions of their solution are offered. The need for coordination of bodies of state supervision at the regional level with the observers' control activity is identified to promote the efficient and meaningful use of international financial sources by economic entities in the transport sector. It is proposed to supplement the state and supranational control with public control functions through the following options for establishing cooperation: 1) interaction of public councils at local self-government bodies with independent observers of international organizations involving auditors of the Accounting Chamber; 2) control of the process of implementation of the credit project of important infrastructure projects, including public transportation, by public organizations of the regional level. Methodology. In accordance with the purpose, the following research methods were used: a systemic approach (in identifying the components of the organizational and financial mechanism of international financial projects and their relationship), methods of comparative and statistical analysis (in assessing the receipt of financial resources from international financial sources). Results. The problems of inefficiency of implementation of financing sources of international financial organizations (on the example of the European Investment Bank) are identified and the directions of their solution are offered. Practical implications. Improving efficiency of using the international sources of financial support at the regional level will contribute to the renewal of the rolling stock of urban public transport, ensure its sustainable operation and development, save jobs at utility enterprises, increase revenues of utility enterprises from the provision of transportation services to the population. Value/originality. The organizational and financial mechanism for providing international financial support for urban public transport by the EIB has been developed, which, unlike the existing ones, identifies control points for grant flows, providing an opportunity to suggest ways to intensify control activities by the EIB observers and the public.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-88
Author(s):  
Przemysław Żukiewicz

AbstractIn this article, we compare the solutions which the largest Polish cities apply to effectively manage and administer public urban transport. We pay attention to the legal, administrative, and political limitations of current activities; we also analyse public transport strategies in terms of plans for the future. We state that large Polish cities prefer to entrust public transport services to fully dependent companies, do not seek to diversify service providers and do not allow the coexistence of public and private operators. Our research is the first comparative study which has used the eleven largest Polish cities as a research sample. Its results are important not only for decision-makers, but also for entrepreneurs in the transport industry. Not only does our analysis prove that, currently, urban transport in the largest Polish cities is carried out mostly by companies which fully belong to cities, but also that the future strategies of the target state will not be determined by political decision makers at all, or no significant changes are foreseen. In the largest Polish cities in the future, the tramway sector will be fully controlled by municipal companies; in the bus transport sector, private carriers will be able to count on a maximum of 20–30% share of transport work while the railway sector will remain under the control of regional administration, not local urban administration.


Transport ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Bulíček ◽  
Pavel Drdla

This paper is based on the analysis of websites of Urban Public Transport (UPT) made in different states. The paper proposes a standard of ‘minimal information websites content’ named as ‘Passenger Friendly Web’. Information content is divided into a set of elements. Their weights are determined by expert evaluation with the support of mathematics, especially of Saaty’s Method. Possibilities for future research are also regarded. Results can be applied to all Internet websites of UPT.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassilde Muhoza ◽  
Wikman Anna ◽  
Rocio Diaz-Chavez

The urban population of Africa, the fastest urbanizing continent, has increased from 19% to 39% in the past 50 years, and the number of urban dwellers is projected to reach 770 million by 2030. However, while rapid urbanization has increased mobility and created a subsequent growth in demand for public transport in cities, this has not been met by the provision of adequate and sustainable infrastructure and services. The majority of low-income residents and the urban poor still lack access to adequate transport services and rely on non-motorized and public transport, which is often informal and characterized by poor service delivery. Lack of access to transport services limits access to opportunities that aren’t in the proximity of residential areas, such as education, healthcare, and employment. The urban public transport sector not only faces the challenge of poor service provision, but also of gender inequality. Research shows that, in the existing urban transport systems, there are significant differences in the travel patterns of and modes of transport used by women and men, and that these differences are associated with their roles and responsibilities in society. Moreover, the differences in travel patterns are characterized by unequal access to transport facilities and services. Women are generally underrepresented in the sector, in both its operation and decision-making. Women’s mobility needs and patterns are rarely integrated into transport infrastructure design and services and female users are often victims of harassment and assault. As cities rapidly expand, meeting the transport needs of their growing populations while paying attention to gender-differentiated mobility patterns is a prerequisite to achieving sustainability, livability and inclusivity. Gender mainstreaming in urban public transport is therefore a critical issue, but one which is under-researched in East Africa. This research explores gender issues in public transport in East Africa, focusing in particular on women’s inclusion in both public transport systems and transport policy decision-making processes and using case studies from three cities: Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Qiong Li ◽  
Peng rui Bai ◽  
Yang Chen ◽  
Xiao Wei ◽  
Jinjun Tang

As a mode of green transport that can effectively alleviate urban traffic congestion and improve air quality, bus transport is highly subsidized by governments at all levels in China. Thus, measuring efficiency in the bus transport sector is particularly important. However, few reports in the literature have taken exogenous environmental factors into consideration to evaluate public transport operation efficiency. This may lead to inaccurate evaluation results. This study employs the three-stage DEA model, which can eliminate the impacts of exogenous environmental factors on public bus transport operation to gain real efficiency results. Meanwhile, to further explore how exogenous environmental factors affect bus transport operations, a tobit model is used to analyse the results. The main results of this paper reveal the following: first, exogenous environmental factors have a significant impact on the operational efficiency of bus transport. It is reasonable and necessary to select the three-stage method to eliminate environmental factors for real bus operation efficiency. Second, the fluctuations of the bus transport efficiency of 30 cities decreased during 2010–2016. The western region has the highest operation efficiency, followed by the eastern and the middle regions. Third, the economic, taxi transport, and urban rail transport have a marked impact on the operational efficiency of bus transport. This paper confirms the important influence of exogenous environmental factors on the efficiency of public transport operations. In addition, this article could help improve the efficiency of urban public transport operations and promote the attractiveness of urban public transport and the amount of green travel.


Author(s):  
Ramon Muñoz-Raskin ◽  
Manuel Urquidi Zijderveld ◽  
Alexandre Bagolle

Over the past decades, many urban public transport modernization programs have been implemented in numerous cities in developing countries. One of the programs' main challenges has been to manage social aspects of a workforce that is characterized by high informality and vulnerability. Despite the importance of the challenge, there is little documented knowledge about these labor transformation processes; the literature has focused mainly on technical, institutional, organizational, and regulatory changes. This research contributes to closing the knowledge gap on this key aspect of the modernization of urban public transport. International experiences of labor transformation, within the urban public transport sector as well as in other sectors of activity, were analyzed. By identifying successful policies, lessons learned, and best practices transferable to urban public transport programs, one can provide decision makers with better tools to inform and improve the design and implementation of labor insertion and training components. These tools can reduce both the costs and social risks of projects. The results of this work suggest adoption of an integral approach that considers both active and passive labor market policies. Programs should include training for new skills, both to reinsert workers in the new modernized system and to send workers to available jobs in other sectors. This process requires in-depth information on the current and desired skills of the workers involved to define the training requirements needed to cover the capacity gap. Projects should also be linked to existing training institutions in order to increase efficiency through access to complementary technical and financial resources.


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