Estimating the Benefits and Costs of Public Transit Projects: A Guidebook for Practitioners

The guidebook was developed largely to support transit planners in state, regional, and local government who evaluate transit investments. The theory and methods for estimating the benefits and costs of public transportation projects are presented to provide practical tools for practitioners. The guidebook is divided into five sections. Section I explains how to use the guidebook and provides an overview of benefit-cost evaluation concepts and their application to transit projects. Section II addresses the basic benefits and costs of transit projects, including impacts on travel, secondary impacts on the environment and safety, and the direct costs and revenues of transit projects. Section III discusses other benefits and costs of transit projects, including impacts on land use and land development, economic impacts, and the distribution of impacts. Section IV provides an example with sample analyses. Section V consists of four appendices that provide a bibliography, integrated models for conducting comprehensive benefitcost analysis, sample calculations, and conversion factors for calculating constant dollars.