The Spatiotemporal exploration of intercity transport energy efficiency in the mainland of China on the basis of improved stochastic frontier modelling

Abstract

In order to determine the upper bound of Transport Energy Efficiency (TEE) and investigate the temporal and regional heterogeneities of TEE, an improved stochastic frontier analysis model taking into account the meta-frontier is established in this work. Focusing on thirty provinces in the mainland of China from 2000 to 2018, this research employs the transport energy efficiency index, technical efficiency variation, frontier transport technical index, and total factor energy efficiency to assess the energy technical disparities among the studied provinces. The results indicate that TEE remains relatively low from 2000 to 2010 due to regional energy technical disparities. However, a noteworthy increase in TEE is observed from 2011 to 2018 owing to technological advancements. Furthermore, among four main intercity transport modes including highway, railway, aviation and water transports, the TEE of railway is the highest, followed by aviation and water transports. In view of the present situation and in order to develop the transport system in a sustainable way, narrowing the energy technical disparities among provinces and constructing a sustainable transport network are vital for policymakers to adopt a more rational transport development plan.