ESTIMATING THE COST OF PROVIDING TRANSPORTATION SERVICES TO ELDERLY CLIENTS

The purpose of this paper is to help individuals and organizations engaged in the provision of transportation services to the transportation disadvantaged better understand and control the cost of those services. Presented is the "parametric cost estimation methodology," which resulted from a study conducted by the Institute for Economics and Social Measurement, Inc., and Ecosometrics, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging. In this study methodologies were developed for assessing the costs of both transportation and in-home services provided to elderly clients under Title III of the Older Americans Act. The study produced (a) a research report summarizing the application of the resource-based cost methodology that was developed for these two studies and (b) a cost assessment manual for use by local service providers. Data used to develop the cost methodology were collected from in-depth interviews with all transportation service providers in 16 randomly selected planning and service areas across the United States (a total of 49 providers were included in the sample). Providers were contacted in person for information on factors such as the basic costs of resources, the amount of resources required to produce services, service specifications, and consumption patterns and rates. From the data, parametric cost formulas were developed that relate resources used with services produced and consumed. A brief overview of the results of the research and of how to use the methodology to construct and analyze the true cost of operating transportation services is presented.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1985/1018/1018-003.pdf
• Summary URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=ESTIMATING+THE+COST+OF+PROVIDING+TRANSPORTATION+SERVICES+TO+ELDERLY+CLIENTS&author=S.+Knapp&author=M.+Wozny&author=J.+Burkhardt&publication_year=1985
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Transportation for the Transportation Disadvantaged.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

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• Authors:
  • Knapp, Sue F
  • Wozny, Mark C
  • Burkhardt, Jon E
• Publication Date: 1985

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 22-33
• Monograph Title: TRANSPORTATION FOR ELDERLY AND HANDICAPPED PERSONS, PARATRANSIT, AND RIDESHARING
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1018
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aged; Costs; Estimating; Interviewing; Methodology; Public transit; Social service agencies; Transit operating agencies
• Uncontrolled Terms: Transit services
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00453114
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 030903907X
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 31 1988 12:00AM