The benefits of transit in the United States : a review and analysis of benefit-cost studies.

Details

• Creators:
  Ferrell, Christopher E.
• Corporate Creators:
  Mineta Transportation Institute
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Public transit
  • Benefit cost analysis
  • Rural areas
  • Urban areas
  • Small cities
  • Economic factors
  • Health care
  • Jobs
  • Traffic congestion
  • Savings
• Publication/ Report Number:
  CA-MTI-15-1425
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Mineta Transportation Institute
• Abstract:
  This white paper presents the findings from a review and analysis of the available literature on benefit-cost (b-c) estimates of ; existing U.S. transit systems. Following an inventory of the literature, the b-c estimates from each study were organized according ; to the type of study area (e.g., rural, small urban, urban, etc.). Through this process, categories of monetary transit benefits were ; identified. The estimated dollar value for each benefit category was divided by the total estimated costs of providing the transit ; services, thus creating a benefit-specific b-c ratio for each category and allowing benefits from each study to be compared on ; an equal basis. Some of these differences are attributable to the population size and densities of the service areas (context) ; with rural and small urban areas generally yielding lower b-c values than urbanized areas. However, differences remained even ; after the context was accounted for; suggesting appropriate transit investments in rural and small urban areas can yield benefits ; substantially greater than costs. The benefits of transit were measurable and strong in a variety of operating environments; not ; just in large cities. Key findings from this review and analysis were: ; • Transit benefits often substantially exceed costs in rural and small urban areas—not just big cities; ; • Transit typically pays for itself in congestion relief benefits for mid- to large-sized urban areas; ; • Jobs and economic stimulus are among the largest benefit categories of transit; ; • Transit improves health care access and outcomes while reducing costs; ; • Transit saves people money, with transit in larger urban areas benefiting more people; ; • Low b-c ratios aside, transit saves lives, with evidence presented that b-c analysis methods are likely undervaluing the role ; transit plays in reducing accidents and their costs to society; and ; • Greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, and other important but undervalued transit benefits categories should be considered ; in future studies.
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• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  DTRT12-G-UTC21
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/29054/dot_29054_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 712.46 KB]
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers ; US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a732f01ddeed38b0e61273748c3e173ea877bf2d7e021a246a0bf222572675b59bb9705d47f1d83d79464fb29ec2c6c9bf5d879a53f17f0f36b0791e86800a66