ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE TAXICAB INDUSTRY IN PENNSYLVANIA: DEMAND AND COST

In an effort to develop a basic body of knowledge about the taxicab industry, an attempt has been made to estimate demand and cost functions for the industry as well as provide data on the basic operating relationships of taxicab companies. Operating ratios are given and a variety of average and total cost functions are presented using three different measures of output: trips, passengers and total miles. Average costs are basically "U" shaped when trips and passengers are the unit of output. The demand mode presented suggests that taxi trips per capita are positively related to percent of families with income above $15,000, cars per capita and percent of families with zero cars available. Taxi trips per capita are negatively related to price, percent non white, percent of families with two or more cars and percent of families with incomes below the poverty level.

• Corporate Authors:

  Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg

  777 West Harrisburg Pike
  Middletown, PA  United States  17057

  Department of Transportation

  Office of University Research, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Brown, T A
• Publication Date: 1973-8

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 19 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Costs; Demand; Economic analysis; Income; Low income groups; Operations; Passengers; Race; Taxicabs; Travel
• Uncontrolled Terms: Mileage; Trip
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Economics; Finance; Highways; Passenger Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00081853
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT-TSC-75-15 Final Rpt.
• Contract Numbers: DOT-OS-30105
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Mar 26 1975 12:00AM