Determinants of Station Service Cost in Metros

This article examines the determinants of station service costs for a panel of 24 urban rail transit operators worldwide during the 2005-2012 period. The paper analyses the determinants of unitized station service operating costs. The authors estimate the cost elasticities for each of the cost factors by means of panel econometric analysis. The research found significant economies of density but also significant economies of scale. This study also revealed to what extent energy and, particularly, labour affect the cost efficiency of the station service. Other variables, such as contracting out of station staff and station facilities (e.g. escalators and elevators) are analysed and demonstrate limited effects on station service costs. Lastly, the effect of urban rail system age and the time trend in station service costs is also evaluated. The results are useful for benchmarking and understanding the true cost efficiency of individual mass transit station service costs, taking into account local factors.

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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AP045 Standing Committee on Intermodal Transfer Facilities.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Brage-Ardao, Ruben
  • Graham, Daniel J
  • Anderson, Richard J
  • Barron, Alexander
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2016-1-10 to 2016-1-14
• Date: 2016

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 18p
• Monograph Title: TRB 95th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Operating costs; Rail transit; Rail transit stations; Urban transit
• Subject Areas: Economics; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; Terminals and Facilities; I10: Economics and Administration; I70: Traffic and Transport;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01589094
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 16-2142
• Files: PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 1 2016 9:26AM