Comparing Light Rail, Bus and Subway Costs
Two reports on Canadian Light Rail systems
The following link is to a report published in 2006 by Calagary Transit
Light Rail Transit in Calgary
http://www.calgarytransit.com/pdf/Calgarys_LRT_1st_25Years_TRB_revised.pdf
Currently, the average hourly operating cost of LRT is approximately $163, including operating, maintenance and utility costs. With an average of 600 boarding passengers per revenue operating hour, the average cost per LRT passenger is only $0.27. In comparison, the average cost per bus passenger boarding is approximately $1.50, or almost six times the cost of carrying an LRT passenger."
The Authors are a Director, and the Manager Transit Planning, of Calgary Transit, the figures should be accepted as authentic, also note the data on safety and accidents
The second link, published in January 2011
by Cherise Burda and Graham Haines,
Making Tracks to Torontonians
http://pubs.pembina.org/reports/making-tracks-toronto.pdf
examines the costs and benefits of the subway extension proposed by Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in December 2010, compared to the light rail transit plan that is already underway with funding on the table.The subway extension would provide less service per dollar invested than the existing light rail rapid transit plan for Toronto, and wouldn't deliver transit service to the communities that need it most.
