THE CAUSES OF RISING TRANSIT OPERATING DEFICITS

This report presents detailed estimates of the contributions by various factors to growth in operating deficits among U.S. urban transit systems between 1970 and 1980, as well as an extensive analysis of the causes underlying each of these factors. They include increases in operating expenditures per unit of transit service, increases in the aggregate level of service supplied, declining utilization of transit services, and reduced fare revenue per passenger carried. The report also examines variation in the growth of transit operating losses and the relative importance of its different sources among U.S. urban areas. The report provides detailed recommendations for actions by transit operators, transportation planners, and government officials to control rapidly rising deficits. Some of the major findings in this study state that: 1) rising unit labor costs were the most important single source of escalating transit deficits between 1970 and 1980, accounting for more than 43 percent of the inflation-adjusted growth in the industry's operating losses; 2) rising costs for vehicle propulsion energy accounted for 10 percent of growth in the nation's aggregate operating deficit; 3) expansion of the aggregate level of nationwide transit service was responsible for another 16 percent of growth in operating deficits; 4) deteriorating utilization of urban transit service accounted for about 2 percent of total deficit growth; and 5) substantial decline in average fare revenue per passenger accounted for 28 percent of overall increase in operating deficits.

• Corporate Authors:

  Harvard University

  Kennedy School of Government, 79 JF Kennedy Street
  Cambridge, MA  United States  02138

  Urban Mass Transportation Administration

  400 7th Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Pickrell, D H
• Publication Date: 1983-7

Media Info

• Pagination: 160 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Costs; Deficits; Fares; Fuels; Labor costs; Level of service; Operating costs; Productivity; Public transit; Revenues; Ridership
• Identifier Terms: Urban Mass Transportation Act
• Uncontrolled Terms: Fuel costs
• Old TRIS Terms: Umta section 11
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Economics; Energy; Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00380825
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: UMTA-MA-11-0037-83-1Final Rpt.
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 30 1984 12:00AM