Wait, the T does something (mostly) right when it comes to revenue
The MBTA’s recent “free fare day’’ cost the system $5 million. How could the T afford that when the transit service is nearly $9 billion in debt?
They can’t. But the T gets one thing about revenue right. The MBTA loses the second least amount of money per passenger ride compared to other major U.S. metro rail systems, according to a new report from a Washington think tank.
The Hamilton Project is a a subset of the Brookings Institute (a nonprofit, policy research group) that focuses on economic strategy. They looked at how much money transit systems across the country lose per ride when compared to how much they earn per fare as revenue.
Average Loss per Passenger Ride by U.S. Metro Rail System, 2013: Although operating costs exceed fare revenue for nearly all metro systems, larger metro systems tend to lose less money per passenger ride than do smaller systems.The Hamilton Project
Riders of the five largest systems—in New York, Washington, DC, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco Bay Area—pay about a dollar less than the actual cost of each trip. Hampton Roads Transit in Virginia has the worst record, losing an staggering $6.63 on average per passenger ride.
Every city’s transit system loses some money, but Eric Jaffe at CityLab writes: “The notable pattern here is that transit does a better job operating near cost in compact cities with dense residential and commercial development.’’
Only a few of America’s 1,800-plus mass transit systems generated more fare revenue in 2013 than they paid in costs, according to Hamilton. With a winter that cost the MBTA $36 million, it doesn’t look likely that Boston will clear that hurdle.
(h/t CityLab)
Woes of the 2015 winter in pictures
[bdc-gallery id=”141492″]
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com