IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transa/v42y2008i4p696-708.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effect of mergers on efficiency and productivity of public transport services

Author

Listed:
  • Odeck, James

Abstract

Merger is a process whereby two or more companies merge into one company to strengthen their market positions. Merger in the bus transport sector has been prevalent in Europe, and elsewhere, since the early 1990s. A question rarely addressed by researchers of transportation is the extent to which mergers lead to efficiency by which services are provided to the public. This is the substantive issue in this paper in which Norwegian data are used to assess the impact that mergers have on the performances of bus companies. The data cover the period 1995-2002; 1995-1998 are the pre-mergers years and the post-merger years are 1999-2002. The framework for the analyses is that of data envelopment analysis and the Malmquist productivity index (MPI) to investigate the impacts of mergers on efficiency and productivity growth, respectively. It is found that: (1) there is great potential for efficiency and productivity improvements in the bus industry; (2) mergers outperformed non-mergers as far as scale efficiency was concerned; and (3) the merger process led to productivity improvements in the post-merger periods for the reasons that merged companies utilized their scale economies to improve efficiencies while the non-mergers significantly became more technically innovative in order to be competitive. These results are an asset to the less-explored field of the impact of mergers in transportation.

Suggested Citation

  • Odeck, James, 2008. "The effect of mergers on efficiency and productivity of public transport services," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 696-708, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:42:y:2008:i:4:p:696-708
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965-8564(08)00020-7
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Coelli, Tim J., 1995. "Recent Developments In Frontier Modelling And Efficiency Measurement," Australian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 39(3), pages 1-27, December.
    2. Juan, Zhichai & Wu, Jianping & McDonald, Mike, 2003. "The socio-economic impacts assessment of advanced convoy driving on motorway," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 731-747, November.
    3. Charnes, A. & Cooper, W. W. & Rhodes, E., 1978. "Measuring the efficiency of decision making units," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 2(6), pages 429-444, November.
    4. Pacheco, R. R. & Fernandes, E., 2003. "Managerial efficiency of Brazilian airports," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 667-680, October.
    5. Karlaftis, Matthew G., 2003. "Investigating transit production and performance: a programming approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 225-240, March.
    6. James Odeck & Abdulrahim Alkadi, 2001. "Evaluating efficiency in the Norwegian bus industry using data envelopment analysis," Transportation, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 211-232, August.
    7. Jonathan Cowie & Darinka Asenova, 1999. "Organisation form, scale effects and efficiency in the British bus industry," Transportation, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 231-248, August.
    8. Cullinane, Kevin & Wang, Teng-Fei & Song, Dong-Wook & Ji, Ping, 2006. "The technical efficiency of container ports: Comparing data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 354-374, May.
    9. Odeck, James, 2000. "Assessing the relative efficiency and productivity growth of vehicle inspection services: An application of DEA and Malmquist indices," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 126(3), pages 501-514, November.
    10. Dag Dalen & Andres Gómez-Lobo, 2003. "Yardsticks on the road: Regulatory contracts and cost efficiency in the Norwegian bus industry," Transportation, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 371-386, November.
    11. C. Lovell, 2003. "The Decomposition of Malmquist Productivity Indexes," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 437-458, November.
    12. Jonathan Cowie, 2002. "Acquisition, efficiency and scale economies: An analysis of the British bus industry," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 147-157, January.
    13. Bjurek, Hans & Hjalmarsson, Lennart, 1995. "Productivity in multiple output public service: A quadratic frontier function and Malmquist index approach," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(3), pages 447-460, March.
    14. Odeck, James, 2006. "Congestion, ownership, region of operation, and scale: Their impact on bus operator performance in Norway," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 52-69, March.
    15. Bekken, Jon-Terje & Longva, Frode & Fearnley, Nils & Osland, Oddgeir, 2006. "Norwegian experiences with tendered buss services," European Transport \ Trasporti Europei, ISTIEE, Institute for the Study of Transport within the European Economic Integration, issue 33, pages 29-40.
    16. Kerstens, K., 1996. "Technical efficiency measurement and explanation of French urban transit companies," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 431-452, November.
    17. R. D. Banker & A. Charnes & W. W. Cooper, 1984. "Some Models for Estimating Technical and Scale Inefficiencies in Data Envelopment Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(9), pages 1078-1092, September.
    18. Patrick L. Brockett & Boaz Golany, 1996. "Using Rank Statistics for Determining Programmatic Efficiency Differences in Data Envelopment Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(3), pages 466-472, March.
    19. Viton, Philip A., 1997. "Technical efficiency in multi-mode bus transit: A production frontier analysis," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 23-39, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bai, Xue-jie & Zeng, Jin & Chiu, Yung-Ho, 2019. "Pre-evaluating efficiency gains from potential mergers and acquisitions based on the resampling DEA approach: Evidence from China's railway sector," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 46-56.
    2. Veeneman, Wijnand & Wilschut, Janneke & Urlings, Thijs & Blank, Jos & van de Velde, Didier, 2014. "Efficient frontier analysis of Dutch public transport tendering: A first analysis," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 101-108.
    3. Arocena, Pablo & Saal, David S. & Urakami, Takuya & Zschille, Michael, 2020. "Measuring and decomposing productivity change in the presence of mergers," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 282(1), pages 319-333.
    4. Campos-Alba, Cristina M. & Prior, Diego & Pérez-López, Gemma & Zafra-Gómez, Jose L., 2020. "Long-term cost efficiency of alternative management forms for urban public transport from the public sector perspective," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 16-23.
    5. Bouf, Dominique & Faivre d’Arcier, Bruno, 2015. "The looming crisis in French public transit," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 34-41.
    6. Cinzia Daraio & Marco Diana & Flavia Di Costa & Claudio Leporelli & Giorgio Matteucci & Alberto Nastasi, 2014. "Efficiency and effectiveness in the urban public transport sector: a critical review with directions for future research," DIAG Technical Reports 2014-14, Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza".
    7. George E. Halkos & Nickolaos G. Tzeremes, 2015. "Measuring Seaports' Productivity: A Malmquist Productivity Index Decomposition Approach," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 49(2), pages 355-376, April.
    8. Karlaftis, Matthew G. & Tsamboulas, Dimitrios, 2012. "Efficiency measurement in public transport: Are findings specification sensitive?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 392-402.
    9. Caulfield, Brian & Bailey, Diarmuid & Mullarkey, Shane, 2013. "Using data envelopment analysis as a public transport project appraisal tool," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 74-85.
    10. Albalate, Daniel & Rosell, Jordi, 2019. "On the efficiency of toll motorway companies in Spain," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    11. Rolim, Fernando & Brasileiro, Anísio & Santos, Enilson, 2010. "Competition in Brazilian bus and coach services - The results of recent competitive tendering processes," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 45-51.
    12. Huang, Wencheng & Shuai, Bin & Sun, Yan & Wang, Yang & Antwi, Eric, 2018. "Using entropy-TOPSIS method to evaluate urban rail transit system operation performance: The China case," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 292-303.
    13. Sen Wang & Zhijun Zhang, 2018. "Research on China’s M&A Efficiency Based on DEA–Tobit," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(4), pages 232-232, March.
    14. Kenta Tanaka and Shunsuke Managi, 2013. "Measuring Productivity Gains from Deregulation of the Japanese Urban Gas Industry," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4).
    15. Magnus Söderberg, 2009. "A Broad Performance Benchmark Based On Citizens’ Preferences: The Case Of Swedish Public Transportation," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 80(4), pages 579-603, December.
    16. Merkert, Rico & Mulley, Corinne & Hakim, Md Mahbubul, 2017. "Determinants of bus rapid transit (BRT) system revenue and effectiveness – A global benchmarking exercise," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 75-88.
    17. Zhang, Chunqin & Xiao, Guangnian & Liu, Yong & Yu, Feng, 2018. "The relationship between organizational forms and the comprehensive effectiveness for public transport services in China?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 783-802.
    18. Anand Venkatesh & Shivam Kushwaha, 2017. "Measuring technical efficiency of passenger bus companies in India: a non-radial data envelopment analysis approach," OPSEARCH, Springer;Operational Research Society of India, vol. 54(4), pages 706-723, December.
    19. Per J. Agrell & Pontus Mattsson & Jonas Månsson, 2020. "Impacts on efficiency of merging the Swedish district courts," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 288(2), pages 653-679, May.
    20. Zhang, Chunqin & Juan, Zhicai & Luo, Qingyu & Xiao, Guangnian, 2016. "Performance evaluation of public transit systems using a combined evaluation method," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 156-167.
    21. Holmgren, Johan, 2013. "The efficiency of public transport operations – An evaluation using stochastic frontier analysis," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 50-57.
    22. Price, Juan José & Gómez-Lobo, Andrés, 2021. "Baumol’s cost disease and urban transport services in Latin America," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 206-225.
    23. Pestana Barros, Carlos & Peypoch, Nicolas, 2010. "Productivity changes in Portuguese bus companies," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 295-302, September.
    24. Zhang, Chunqin & Juan, Zhicai & Xiao, Guangnian, 2015. "Do contractual practices affect technical efficiency? Evidence from public transport operators in China," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 39-55.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Odeck, James, 2008. "How efficient and productive are road toll companies?: Evidence from Norway," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 232-241, July.
    2. Cullinane, Kevin & Wang, Teng-Fei & Song, Dong-Wook & Ji, Ping, 2006. "The technical efficiency of container ports: Comparing data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 354-374, May.
    3. Cinzia Daraio & Marco Diana & Flavia Di Costa & Claudio Leporelli & Giorgio Matteucci & Alberto Nastasi, 2014. "Efficiency and effectiveness in the urban public transport sector: a critical review with directions for future research," DIAG Technical Reports 2014-14, Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Universita' degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza".
    4. Zhang, Chunqin & Xiao, Guangnian & Liu, Yong & Yu, Feng, 2018. "The relationship between organizational forms and the comprehensive effectiveness for public transport services in China?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 783-802.
    5. Chiou, Yu-Chiun & Lan, Lawrence W. & Yen, Barbara T.H., 2010. "A joint measurement of efficiency and effectiveness for non-storable commodities: Integrated data envelopment analysis approaches," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 201(2), pages 477-489, March.
    6. Chiou, Yu-Chiun & Lan, Lawrence W. & Yen, Barbara T.H., 2012. "Route-based data envelopment analysis models," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 415-425.
    7. Mahmoudi, Reza & Emrouznejad, Ali & Shetab-Boushehri, Seyyed-Nader & Hejazi, Seyed Reza, 2020. "The origins, development and future directions of data envelopment analysis approach in transportation systems," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    8. Lampe, Hannes W. & Hilgers, Dennis, 2015. "Trajectories of efficiency measurement: A bibliometric analysis of DEA and SFA," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 240(1), pages 1-21.
    9. Zhang, Chunqin & Juan, Zhicai & Luo, Qingyu & Xiao, Guangnian, 2016. "Performance evaluation of public transit systems using a combined evaluation method," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 156-167.
    10. Cavaignac, Laurent & Petiot, Romain, 2017. "A quarter century of Data Envelopment Analysis applied to the transport sector: A bibliometric analysis," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 84-96.
    11. George E. Halkos & Nickolaos G. Tzeremes, 2015. "Measuring Seaports' Productivity: A Malmquist Productivity Index Decomposition Approach," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 49(2), pages 355-376, April.
    12. Karlaftis, Matthew G. & Tsamboulas, Dimitrios, 2012. "Efficiency measurement in public transport: Are findings specification sensitive?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 392-402.
    13. Hanauerová, Eliška, 2019. "Assessing the technical efficiency of public procurements in the bus transportation sector in the Czech Republic," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 105-111.
    14. Huang, Wencheng & Shuai, Bin & Sun, Yan & Wang, Yang & Antwi, Eric, 2018. "Using entropy-TOPSIS method to evaluate urban rail transit system operation performance: The China case," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 292-303.
    15. de Borger, Bruno & Kerstens, Kristiaan & Staat, Matthias, 2008. "Transit costs and cost efficiency: Bootstrapping non-parametric frontiers," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 53-64, January.
    16. Odeck, James, 2006. "Identifying traffic safety best practice: an application of DEA and Malmquist indices," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 28-40, January.
    17. Peter Fernandes Wanke & Rebecca de Mattos, 2014. "Capacity Issues and Efficiency Drivers in Brazilian Bulk Terminals," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 11(5), pages 72-98, October.
    18. Andrea Boitani & Marcella Nicolini & Carlo Scarpa, 2013. "Do competition and ownership matter? Evidence from local public transport in Europe," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(11), pages 1419-1434, April.
    19. Shih-Heng Yu & Chia-Wei Hsu, 2020. "A unified extension of super-efficiency in additive data envelopment analysis with integer-valued inputs and outputs: an application to a municipal bus system," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 287(1), pages 515-535, April.
    20. Anand Venkatesh & Shivam Kushwaha, 2017. "Measuring technical efficiency of passenger bus companies in India: a non-radial data envelopment analysis approach," OPSEARCH, Springer;Operational Research Society of India, vol. 54(4), pages 706-723, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:42:y:2008:i:4:p:696-708. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/547/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.