Evaluation of Service Effectiveness of Tram Systems at Stop-Level Using DEA: The Case of Eskisehir, Türkiye

Abstract Public transportation systems are characterized by the simultaneous production and consumption of services, meaning unused capacity cannot be stored. For this reason, the effectiveness of the service provided is a critical performance indicator for public transport operators. Due to the differences in service supply and passenger demand across the system, it is important to benchmark stops internally when evaluating urban transport performance. This study proposes a data envelopment analysis (DEA)–based methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of the service provided at the stop level in tram systems. For relative evaluation, the line diversity at each tram stop, the frequency of services provided, and time-based accessibility of the tram stops to the defined points of interest (POIs) stops are identified as inputs representing the supply-side characteristics of each tram stop. The numbers of initial and transfer boardings at each stop are considered as outputs reflecting the extent to which the services offered at the stops are utilized. In the methodology, different return-to-scale (RTS) assumptions are used to provide a more detailed analysis and identify the reasons behind the ineffectiveness. The developed methodology was applied to 77 tram stops in the ESTRAM network, the only rail system operating in Eskişehir, Türkiye. The findings provide valuable insights into the relative effectiveness of stops, as well as operational improvement suggestions at the stop and system levels. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first systematic evaluation of service effectiveness performance at the tram stop level. The methodology is applicable to different public transport systems and provides decision-makers with an analytical basis for monitoring and improving service effectiveness.