A Transit Technology Selection Model

Title A Transit Technology Selection Model
Author
Abstract

This paper presents an easy-to-use model to assist in technology selection for transit planning. The model computes annual costs for two technologies—currently BRT and LRT—for a system with characteristics specified by the user and from “real-world” operating data. The model computes the annualized capital and operating costs over a wide range of demand; it also calculates location-specific, energy-related emissions for both technologies operations. Most importantly, the model allows the user to test the sensitivity of the technology selection result to nearly all inputs. The model is applied to a recent case in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, to verify its functionality. The results show that, economically, these two technologies result in very similar annual costs for “normal” demand levels. As a result, small changes in assumed input values for period of evaluation, interest rates, labor costs, and infrastructure costs can result in a change in recommended technology.

Year of Publication
2014
Journal
Journal of Public Transportation
Volume
17
Number of Pages
50-75
URL
http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jpt/vol17/iss4/5/
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/2375-0901.17.4.4
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