Evaluating Rail Transit Benefits: A Comment

Todd Litman

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2007

Subject Area

operations - traffic, land use - impacts, policy - congestion, economics - appraisal/evaluation, economics - benefits, place - urban, mode - rail

Keywords

Urban transit, Traffic congestion, Rail transit, Gridlock (Traffic), Grade separations, Evaluation, Economic impacts, Economic analysis, Cost effectiveness

Abstract

Several recent articles criticize urban rail transit investments on grounds that they are ineffective at reducing traffic congestion and financially wasteful. This commentary challenges that view. It summarizes some of the findings of more detailed analyses of transit benefits and suggests that there is abundant evidence that high quality, grade-separated transit does reduce urban traffic congestion, and that urban transit improvements can be cost effective investments when all economic impacts are considered.

Comments

Transport Policy Home Page: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0967070X

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