Comparative evaluation of bus transit performance: Case study of Toluca, Mexico, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This dissertation explores a framework for the study of bus transit performance. The objectives are: (a) to compare the types of indicators used by bus transit agencies in the monitoring and evaluation of the system's performance and (b) to compare levels of performance between systems. In order to achieve these objectives, a performance monitoring and evaluating model is developed. The model integrates the concepts of efficiency, effectiveness and quality as attributes of performance, and the concepts of production, distribution and consumption as dimensions of performance. The model is applied to the bus transit systems of Toluca, in Mexico, and Philadelphia, in the United States.;The conclusions show that: first, the theory of productivity in the economic firm can be used in the measurement of performance in the transit system; second, the characteristics of the environment determine the level and characteristics of performance; third, the set of indicators and evaluations for bus transit performance is more comprehensive in a developed environment than in a developing one; fourth, the level of performance of a bus transit system in a developed environment is higher than in a developing one; however, some partial measurements may favor the later. The level of performance depends on the basic tasks and objectives the system is intended for; fifth, the analysis of performance must be tailored to the specific conditions of each bus transit system in the city and nation within which it operates.