MULTISTAGE APPROACH FOR ESTIMATING TRANSIT COSTS

The need to improve estimates of the costs of operating specific routes and services is greater than ever given the current financial problems of the transit industry. Managers are increasingly relying on performance audits to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different operations. A multistage technique for allocating systemwide transit cost estimates to more disaggregate levels and accounting for the unique features of an operation is presented. Cost centers and pay-hour adjustments are used in distilling the cost estimates of specific services for two California transit properties. Significant differences are found between the cost estimates generated by "aggregate" unit cost equations computed from systemwide data and those generated by the techniques presented. Finally, suggestions are made as to how unit cost estimates might be used in an ongoing transit planning effort.

Media Info

  • Features: Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: p. 67-75
  • Monograph Title: Urban public transportation planning issues
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00372419
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0309034655
  • Files: TRIS, TRB
  • Created Date: Apr 29 1983 12:00AM