Technical and Scale Efficiency of Tunisia’s Regional Public Transport: A DEA Study

Abstract

This study examines the technical and scale efficiency of twelve regional public transport companies in Tunisia over an eight-year period (2008–2015) using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The analysis considers three input variables (number of employees, fleet size, and fuel consumption) and one output variable (offered seat-kilometers, PKO). Efficiency is evaluated under both constant returns to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS) assumptions. The results reveal significant variations in efficiency across companies and over time. Under CRS, average efficiency scores range from 0.26 to 0.91, while under VRS, they range from 0.4 to 0.96, highlighting the presence of pure technical inefficiencies and scale inefficiencies. The study finds that certain companies could achieve substantial productivity gains by aligning with the efficient frontier, and that inefficiencies persist regardless of company size. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and transport planners aiming to improve the operational performance of regional urban transport systems in Tunisia.