Public road transport efficiency: A literature review via the classification scheme

The paper provides a literature review of public road transport efficiency. We classified 24 articles published between 2000 and 2011, based on journals, date of publication, the nature of the papers', the context of the study, the adopted approach by which efficiency is measured, the adopted outputs and inputs and empirical findings. Results are presented, discussed and future directions are generated. The classification scheme technique shows that the application of the mixed approach of Data Envelopment Analysis and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (DEA-SFA), with operators of different nationalities, is more robust for analysis of public transport efficiency, and for identifying sources inefficiency. Financial variables are important inputs and outputs for efficiency studies. However, although the frontier literature has substantially contributed to the knowledge of public transport technologies and the determinants of performance, it has been found that many important issues remain unresolved. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.