Data Envelopment Analysis-based Research On Scale Efficiency Evaluation Of Urban Rail Transit

Since the 1990s, China's urban rail transit has been growing by leaps and bounds. With the rapid development of urban rail transit, it will play a positive role to evaluate the scale efficiency of urban rail transit. With the lack and imbalance of urban rail transit resources, by studying the scale efficiency of urban rail transit from the perspective of input and output, we can understand its reward stage, and make it clear how to distribute and make full use urban rail transit resources. This kind of evaluation contributes to the plan, construction and operationof urban rail transit both theoretically and practically.Urban rail transit is a non-profit production division with a number of inputs and outputs. In accordance with these features, this thesis uses data envelopment analysis (Data Envelopment Analysis: DEA) to measure the relative scale efficiency of urban rail transport system, which is done according to the economic definition of scale reward and scale efficiency.On the basis of introducing the ideas of scale economy, we find that the theory of scale economy is suitable to evaluate the scale efficiency of urban rail transit. The present thesis concludes the characteristics of DEA and then comes out with its advantages in evaluating the scale efficiency of urban rail transit. By setting up the system for decision-making unit and input-output terms, we finally established a DEA-based scale efficiency evaluation model, which is solved by programming in Matlab. Furthermore, a series of evaluations are conducted by selecting 11 decision-making units; and based on the results some suggestions are proposed to improve the non-scale-efficient rail transit systems.Study in the present thesis shows that DEA is an effective tool to carry out scale efficiency evaluation of urban rail transit. So, policy-making departments of urban planning and urban rail transportation enterprises can use the DEA method to evaluate the scale efficiency so that resources will be fully utilized and the ultimate goal of promoting operation efficiency of urban rail transit can be realized.