Measuring wider economic benefits of the Glenelg tram extension

The Glenelg Tram Extension in the City of Adelaide was constructed and commenced operation in 2008. The extension eliminated the need to transfer to a bus to connect to the Adelaide Railway Station and to the City West precinct within the City. This extension coupled with improved capacity and frequency of tram services and a free “Terrace to Terrace” tram service has improved accessibility to the core of the City. The tram extension was highly successful in transport terms, with patronage rising during the peak hours to and from Glenelg by 40%. Patronage rose by 70% within the City compared to when the tram service terminated at Victoria Square and transferred to the free Bee Line bus connecting Victoria Square and City West. The Glenelg Tram service now carries in excess of 20,000 trips per day. A post-hoc analysis of evidence for wider economic benefits (WEBs) from the project was undertaken. Data on property values and employment was obtained at city block level from before the tram extension was completed to four years after opening. Property values within 400 metres of the tram extension increased relative to the rest of the CBD, but the increase was not statistically significant. Total employment within 400 metres of the tram extension also increased compared to the rest of the CBD, and the difference was highly significant statistically. Two economic methods developed for the London Crossrail project evaluation were tested to value the net increase in employment. These were agglomeration (increased productivity) valuation and a “Move to higher paid jobs” valuation. Under both methods the value of employment increase already observed was sufficient to generate a positive benefit cost ratio over the life of the project, irrespective of any transport benefit. The quantum of the employment benefit was greater than the quantum of the transport benefit. The result confirms the validity of the Crossrail analysis methodology in another jurisdiction. The strength of the result suggests that evaluation of wider economic benefits is a necessary component of evaluation of urban transport infrastructure projects.

• Record URL:
  http://railknowledgebank.com/Presto/content/Detail.aspx?ctID=MTk4MTRjNDUtNWQ0My00OTBmLTllYWUtZWFjM2U2OTE0ZDY3&rID=MjM1OA==&sID=NTc=&ph=VHJ1ZQ==&qcf=MTk4MTRjNDUtNWQ0My00OTBmLTllYWUtZWFjM2U2OTE0ZDY3&bckToL=VHJ1ZQ==
• Authors:
  • Elaurant S
  • Evans G
  • Buchanan P
  • Tisato P
• Conference:
  • CORE 2014, Rail transport for a vital economy, conference on railway engineering, Adelaide, South Australia, 5-7 May 2014
• Publication Date: 2014-5

Media Info

• Pagination: 10p. ; PDF
• Monograph Title: Rail transport for a vital economy: CORE 2014: conference on railway engineering, 5-7 May 2014, Adelaide, South Australia

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Economic analysis; Employment; Infrastructure; Transportation operations; Trolley cars
• ATRI Terms: Economic analysis; Employment; Infrastructure; Tram; Transport network
• Subject Areas: Economics; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01545143
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ATRI
• Created Date: Nov 25 2014 10:19AM