Executive Report: Measuring the Influence of Subsidies on Transit Efficiency and Effectiveness

摘要

The research is devoted to model development and data analysis in an effort to identify relationships between subsidies and transit performance. The theory underlying the determinants of the relationships is developed, and a justification is presented for the efficiency and effectiveness indicators to be tested. Each indicator, serving as the dependent variable, is regressed on relevant control variables, and on subsidies classified by source, use and control. For the sample of 55 observations from 1975-76, current levels of subsidies have increased riders per capita by 93 percent and expenses per vehicle hour by 9 percent over what they would have been if no subsidies had been provided. Subsidies have minor and generally insignificant effects on the six efficiency indicators, but state and local operating subsidies have significantly favorable impacts on the one effectiveness measure, riders per capita, resulting in increases of one to five riders for each dollar of subsidy.