US Public Transport New Starts (Rail) Cost per New Commuter

US Public Transport New Starts (Rail)
Cost per New Commuter

The following table calculates the annual cost and 40 year career cost per new commuter (worker) of building and operating new transit projects as proposed to the United States Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration. The formula for calculating the annual cost is the cost per new passenger trip times 450 (each commuter works an average of 225 days and commutes twice daily). All except one of the listed projects are more expensive than the cost of leasing each new commuter a new economy automobile in perpetuity. Some projects are more expensive than the cost of leasing a luxury car, such as a $55,000-plus Jaguar XJ8, as pictured below (pictured) or a BMW 7-series.

Moreover, the cost per new commuter of building and operating such systems averages more than the annual household income of the lowest 20 percent (quintile).

US Public Transit New Start Projects: FY 2000 Cost per New Passenger Trip
Phase and City (Project)	Incremental Cost per New Passenger Trip	Cost per New Commuter		Project Cost in Millions	Federal Transit Administration Recommendatoin
Phase and City (Project)	Incremental Cost per New Passenger Trip	Cost per New Commuter	40 Year Career Cost	Project Cost in Millions	Federal Transit Administration Recommendatoin
Final Design
Dallas-Ft. Worth (RAILTRAN Phase 2)	$9.77	$4,397	$175,860	$154	Recommended
Dallas (North Central LRT)	$13.49	$6,071	$242,820	$517	Recommended
Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Tri-County Commuter Rail)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$422	Highly Recommended
Los Angeles (LOSSAN Rail Corridor Improvement)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$61	Not Recommended
New Orleans (Canal Streetcar Spine)	$7.47	$3,362	$134,460	$154	Not Recommended
Northern New Jersey (Newark-Elizabeth Rail Link)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$150	Highly Recommended
San Diego (Mission Valley East)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$361	Highly Recommended
Tacoma-Seattle (Sounder) Commuter Rail	$27.89	$12,551	$502,020	$401	Recommended
Preliminary Engineering
Austin (Northwest/North Central Corridor)	$12.90	$5,805	$232,200	TBD	Not Rated
Baltimore (MTA Double Tracking Project)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$150	Recommended
Boston (Piers Transitway Phase 2)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$364	Not Recommended
Chicago (Central Kane Corridor)	$12.13	$5,459	$218,340	$101	Recommended
Chicago (North Central Corridor)	$11.41	$5,135	$205,380	$204	Not Recommended
Chicago (Southwest Corridor)	$5.81	$2,615	$104,580	$177	Highly Recommended
Cincinnati (NE/I-71)	$11.72	$5,274	$210,960	$676	Not Recommended
Cleveland (Euclid Corridor)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$327	Not Recommended
Denver (Southeast Corridor)	$6.88	$3,096	$123,840	$596	Not Recommended
Kansas City (Southtown LRT)	$14.69	$6,611	$264,420	$248	Not Recommended
Las Vegas (Resort Corridor)	$2.54	$1,143	$45,720	$500	Not Recommended
Little Rock (Junction Bridge/River Rail)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$8	Not Recommended
Memphis (Medical Ctr. Trolley Extension)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$36	Recommended
Miami (East/West Corridor)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$2,152	Not Recommended
Miami (North 27th Avenue Corridor)	$17.90	$8,055	$322,200	$579	Not Recommended
Minneapolis (Hiawatha Avenue)	$18.57	$8,357	$334,260	$446	Recommended
New York City (LIRR East Side Access)	$44.80	$20,160	$806,400	$4,289	Not Recommended
Norfolk (Virginia Beach Corridor)	$11.59	$5,216	$208,620	$525	Not Recommended
N. New Jersey (Hudson-Bergen MOS-2)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$989	Not Rated
Orange County (Irvine-Fullerton Corridor)	$14.65	$6,593	$263,700	$1,917	Recommended
Orlando (I-4 Central Florida Light Rail)	$9.72	$4,374	$174,960	$600	Highly Recommended
Phoenix (Central Phoenix/East Valley)	$5.08	$2,286	$91,440	$390	Not Recommended
Pittsburgh (MLK Busway Extension)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$63	Not Recommended
Pittsburgh (Stage 2 LRT)	$7.00	$3,150	$126,000	$513	Not Recommended
Portland (South/North Corridor)	$10.18	$4,581	$183,240	$1,186	Not Recommended
Raleigh, NC (Regional Transit Plan)	$11.62	$5,229	$209,160	$284	Recommended
Salt Lake City (Downtown Connector-West/East Corridor)	$16.81	$7,565	$302,580	$75	Not Recommended
San Diego (Mid Coast Corridor)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$105	Highly Recommended
San Diego (Oceanside Escondido Corridor)	$5.36	$2,412	$96,480	$214	Highly Recommended
San Francisco (Bayshore-Third Street LRT)	$34.82	$15,669	$626,760	$446	Recommended
San Juan - Minillas Extension	$6.99	$3,146	$125,820	$468	Not Rated
Seattle Link LRT (Northgate-Seatac)	$10.39	$4,676	$187,020	$2,917	Highly Recommended
Tampa (Tampa Regional Rail)	$12.90	$5,805	$232,200	$726	Not Recommended
Washington DC (Largo Extension)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$397	Recommended
Average	$17.86	$8,037	$321,497	$24,886
Calculated from Federal Transit Administration Data http://www.fta.dot.gov/library/policy/ns/Table%201-A.htm

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