Performance evaluation of Bangalore metropolitan transport corporation: An application of data envelopment analysis

Abstract

Maintaining and enhancing public transit services in Indian cities is important to meet rapidly-growing mass mobility needs. Indian cities rely predominantly on buses for public transportation, and issues of performance measurement and efficiency analyses for bus companies have been gaining significance due to severe operational stress and financial constraints in which these bus companies provide service to people. In public transportation, multiple parameters are involved that influence the efficiency of operation. This study measures the performance of premium bus services operated by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) using data envelopment analysis. This approach enabled the identification of opportunities for improvement at the bus depot and route levels. The analysis indicates that most depots are efficient, but some routes have significant opportunities for improvement.