Cost Increases, Cost Differences, and Productivity of Transit Operations in New York State

Transcription

1 15 Cost Incrass, Cost Diffrncs, and Prodctivity of Transit Oprations in Nw York Stat William C. Holthoff,* Polytchnic Institt of Nw York Robrt G. Knighton, Planning and Rsarch Bra, Nw York Stat Dpartmnt of Transportation Pblic transit oprations in Nw York Stat wr analyzd to xplor transit costs and oprational prodctivity. Thr transit systms wr xamind ovr tim to dtrmin what cost componnt ar casing th rapid incrass in oprating costs that hav occrrd in th past 7 yars. Twlv bs oprations wr analyzd to xplor why som transit oprations cost mor to oprat than othrs, and whthr similar transit oprations ar qally prodctiv. Th rslts showd that mploy costs (wags and salaris, pnsions, and othr mployrlatd costs) constitt 7 to 9 prcnt of all oprating costs, and that incrass in mploy costs ar almost ntirly rsponsibl for past incrass in oprating costs. Incrass in fl, powr, and othr nonmployrlatd costs wr fond to hav littl ffct on oprating cost incrass. Diffrncs in oprating cost pr vhiclkilomtr among oprations ar accontd for by diffrncs in avrag vhicl spds, mploy avrag arnings, and, in som cass, prodctivity. Cost savings of btwn 5 and 12 prcnt cold b obtaind by incrasing th avrag vhicl spd of a bs opration by 1 km/h (.6 mph). Th difficltis of obtaining an incras in avrag vhicl spd ar also discssd. This papr xtnds a prviosly rportd analysis of transit oprating costs that was prformd dring th Nw York Stat stdy of transit oprating assistanc. Th prvios analysis (1, 2) showd that transit costs wr incrasing at a rat that was abot 5 prcnt fastr than th consmr pric indx (CPI), and that thr ar significant diffrncs in oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr among diffrnt transit oprations in th stat. This papr xplors svral ky aras in transit costs. 1. What particlar cost componnt(s) ar rsponsibl for past cost incrass? 2. Why ar som transit oprations' oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr incrasing fastr than othrs? 3. Why do similar transit oprations hav diffrnt oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr? 4. What, if anything, can b don to rdc ths diffrncs? Th papr also xamins transit prodctivity and invstigats whthr similar oprations hav th sam prodctivitis and thn xplors th rlations btwn prodctivity, total oprating costs, and mploy compnsation. HISTORY OF TRANSIT COST INCREASES Thr transit oprations, which had sfficint data availabl for th yars 1967 throgh 1973, wr chosn for this analysis. Thy ar 1. Rgional Transit Srvic (RTS), th primary transit oprator in Rochstr, Nw York; 2. Nw York CitY, Transit Athority (NYCTA), a sbsidiary of Mtropolitan Transit Athority (MT A), a bs and sbway opration; and 3. Manhattan and Bronx Srfac Transit Oprating Athority (MABSTOA), a sbsidiary of NYCTA, a bs opration. Th data obtaind for ach opration incld 1. Nmbr of mploys (inclding transit polic for oprations); 2. Rvn vhiclkilomtrs; 3. E ploy costs: (a) wag and salary costs, (b) pnsion costs, and (c) othr bnfit costs (which incld halth and wlfar bnfits, Social Scrity taxs, cost of workmn's compnsation, and any othr rlatd mploy bnfits that ar paid by th mployr); 4. Cost for fl for bss; 5. Powr cost (sbway only); 6. Matrial and spplis cost (xcpt for RTS for which data wr not availabl); and 7. Total oprating costs (xclding dprciation and inclding transit polic costs). Transit polic wr incldd in most of th analysis sinc thir mploy costs wr not sparatd from transitworkr mploy costs. Whr possibl transit polic hav bn xcldd and ths placs hav bn indicatd. Componnt Cost Prcntags Each cost variabl as a prcnt of total oprating cost is shown in Figr 1. Employ Costs (Wags and Salaris, Pnsions, and Othr Bnfits) This componnt is 8 to 9 prcnt of th total oprating costs, making it th prim dtrminant of oprating costs. Wags and salary costs as a prcntag of oprating costs hav dclind somwhat (althogh still th largst singl componnt), bt pnsion costs hav incrasd. Th prcntag costs of othr bnfits hav incrasd for two oprations and dcrasd only slightly for th othr. Othr Costs Fl for bss, powr, and matrial and spply costs ach rprsnt lss than 1 prcnt of th oprating costs for ach of ths transit oprations. Both MABSTOA and NYCTA xprincd drastic incrass in fl prics dring th nrgy crisis: Dring th cost of fl for bss incrasd by abot 1 prcnt and th cost of powr incrasd by abot 4 prcnt. At th sam tim, howvr, th prcntag of th oprating costs rprsntd by th fl cost incrasd only 1 prcnt and that by th powr cost lss than 1.5 prcnt. Evn drastic incrass in th costs of powr, fl, and matrials and spplis hav littl ffct on th prcntag that othr costs rprsnt of th total oprating costs.

2 16 Figr 1. Transit cost componnt as prcnt of total oprating cost I I I I \ \ \ Employ Wag and Salary Employ Wag and Salary Figr 2. Transit cost componnt changs pr mploy and pr vhicl kilomtr in 1967 dollars. Cost Incrass Pr Employ (1967 Dollars) (;:Qt I.nc r 5 P!Q. PPr VPhiC'l Kilomtr (1967 Dollars) 13 Total Total Employ Cost g 8 Wag and Salary.6.6 ".. Sl..,. 4.<. 4. :> " Employ Cost Hacrtal. Sppl al Yar 7J Fl and Powr Yar Cost Incrass Th cost incrass occrring from 1967 to 1973 wr adjstd in th following ways. 1. Th cost pr mploy and pr vhiclkilomtr was calclatd for ach cost componnt. 2. An avrag cost for th thr systms was calclatd. 3. Th costs wr convrtd to 1967 dollars by sing 4l.,,T\T """,,,,.1,,. f.\,.,, 1,.,..,.,.4.;,.,.,.,,,.,,.. y.;4\,,._.4.,,.,,.,.. 1.'' J.,L.. I,._,..,., J LJ "" _,. '""" VV V. "J " ' +,.. ''"""""" to inflation. Figr 2 shows th componnts of th total oprating costs on both a pr mploy and a pr vhiclkilomtr basis. Employ costs, particlarly wags and salaris, ar rsponsibl for most Qf th transit cost incras; whil wag and salary costs hav grown at a lowr rat sinc 1972, pnsion and bnfits hav grown mor rapidly so that th growth in mploy costs has con tind at app:roxin1atly th srn 1;at. Diffring Rats of Cost Incras pr VhiclKilomtr Figr 3A shows th oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr of ach of th systms xamind. Th oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr of MABSTOA ar incrasing fastr than thos of NYCTA, whos costs (sinc mid1971) hav bn incrasing fastr than thos of RTS. Figr 3B shows th indx of th oprating costs pr mploy basd on th yar nding Dcmbr 31, 1967: f,.11 Lt, _.,.,: 'L 'L., 1.:.:1, 1,:.1.a \;;'l,;;i" vp.i.". "".&&. O.11. v,.;;;..1,.,1. i.::ll.ll&.j1.l'1l ''VO\,.L.ll.'l.J.l. '1;;;'"4'1;;; 1:1,tJC L mploy. Ths, th diffring rats of cost incras pr vhiclkilomtr ar probably d to changs in th nmbr of vhiclkilomtrs of opration withot similar changs in th nmbr of mploys. Figr 4 shows th changs in vhiclkilomtrs and in th nmbr of mploys for ach of th systms (transit polic hav bn xcldd from th nmbr of mploys for NYCTA). RTS, sinc mid1968, has changd th nmbr of mploys and th nmbr of vhiclkilomtrs at th sa111t: i at. IYCT A did almot Lh am ntil 1971,

3 17 Figr 3. Comparisons of total oprating cost pr vhiclkilomtr and pr mploy for thr oprations A Total Oprating Cost Pr Vhicl Kilomtr,,,,,,,,.,. '"'t: l. 5,,,,,,,,,,,,,.,., 11 '''" ti l. 2.,,,,,,,.. 9,,,,,.!l. 6 & = l ,, l. 2 H = 1. 1 B Indx of Total Oprating Cost Pr Employ, 1967 = 1. MAB STOA NY CT A RTS Figr 4. Comparison of changs in mploys and vhiclkilomtrs for thr oprations. x l. 2 NYCTA Yar Employs Vhicl Kilomtrs. l.ll!!!:;:::::::!. & l. 2 MABSTOA ] 1.1 l.or iiiii;;iiiiiiiiiii;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;,;;;;;;;;::;::;::::::::::::;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;:::::::::::: 9 Yar aftr which mploymnt rmaind abot constant whil th nmbr of vhiclkilomtrs dcrasd. This xplains why th incrass in oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr for NYCT A and RTS wr almost th sam from 1967 to 1971, whil aftr that RTS costs incrasd at a slowr rat than thos of NYCT A. MABSTOA, which has had th fastst incras in oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr, has sinc 1967 incrasd its mploymnt bt dcrasd th nmbr of vhiclkilomtrs. Ths th diffrnt rats of incras in oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr hav bn d to changs in th nmbr of vhiclkilomtrs opratd withot corrsponding changs in th nmbr of mploys. Comparison of Cost Componnt Incrass Wag and salary costs pr mploy hav incrasd for all thr oprations at approximatly th sam rat, to almost 1.6tims highr in 1973 than thy wr in Pnsion costs pr mploy hav incrasd at approximatlyth sam rat for NYCTAand RTS and wr abot 2.5 tims highr in 1973 than thy wr in MABSTOA has had a m:ch highr incras in pnsion cost pt mploy (5. 7 tims as mch in 1973 as in 1967). Howvr, its inc1 as in othr bnfits pr mploy has bn lowrthanthos of NYCTA orrts (MABSTOA, 1.8 tims; RTS, 2.1 tims; and NYCTA, 2.5 tims highr in 1973

4 18 than othr bnfit costs pr mploy in 1967). Costs pr vhiclkilomtr for fl for bss hav incrasd at approximatly th sam rat for ach opration. Powr costs pr vhiclkilomtr hav stadily incrasd sinc mid1969 and wr 2.26 tims gratr in mid1974 than in Incrass in matrial and spply costs pr vhiclkilomtr hav varid. Thos of MABSTOA hav incrasd 3.7 tims ovr 1967 lvls whil thos of NYCTA hav incrasd only 1.8 tims. DIFFERENCES IN TRANSIT COSTS (BUS ONLY) Th first sction of this rport has xamind rats of cost incrass bt has not xplaind diffrncs in magnitds of costs. Prvios work (3, 4) had shown that th oprating cost pr vhiclkilomtr btwn two transit oprations varis by as mch as $3.2/vhiclkilomtr for th sam yar. This sction and th following on invstigat ths diffrncs. Data for th yar 1973 wr obtaind for 12 bs oprations in Nw York Stat. All of ths oprations hav th following charactristics: (a) a high prcntag of fixdrot, mltistop srvic; (b) mainly intrrban oprations; and (c) littl chartr srvic. Th companis, th aras thy srv, th typs of oprations, and thir avrag oprating spds ar smmarizd b low (1 km/h =.6 mph). Company Ara Srvd Typ of Opration NYCTA (bs only) MAB STOA Niagara Frontir Transit Rgional Transit Srvic Qns Transit CDTA Pblic Pblic Bffalo 17.3 Rochstr AlbanySchnctadyTroy Wstchstr Conty Wstchstr Conty Wstchstr Conty Pblic Pblic Triboro Coach Stinway Transit Wstchstr Strt Clb Transportation Librty Coachs Avn B and East Broadway Avg Oprating Spd (km/h) Th variations in prcnt of oprating costs for ach of th cost componnts ar mploy costs= 72 to 91; wags and salaris = 62 to 85; pnsion costs = 3 to 11; othr bnfits = 7 to 11; and fl, oil, and powr costs = 2 to 5 prcnt rspctivly. Th avrag spd (obtaind by dividing th nmbr of rvn vhiclkilomtrs by th nmbr of rvn vhiclhors) of ths oprations also varis significantly. Th slowst company oprats at an avrag spd of 9.6 km/h (6 mph) whil th fastst oprats at an avrag spd of 19.8 km/h (12 mph). Thr was no corrlation btwn th avrag vhicl spd and th siz of th transit opration. Total Costs pr VhiclKilomtr Figr 5A shows th total oprating costs (xclding d prciation) pr vhiclkilomtr. Th oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr varid from $.65 to $1.81/ vhiclkm ($1.4to $2.9/vhiclmil). Th oprations ar rankd by ordr of siz, and sinc th oprating cost pr vhiclkilomtr still varis, opration siz dos not xplain th diffrncs in oprating cost pr vhicl kilomtr. Effct of Vhicl Spds Transit oprations can hav significantly diffrnt oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr and yt hav similar oprating costs pr vhiclhor so that th apparnt diffrnc in oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr may b d to diffrncs in avrag vhicl spd. To tst this, th vhiclkilomtrs for ach opration wr adjstd to rflct a9.6km/h (6mph) avrag spd by mltiplying th nmbr of vhiclhors by 9.6 km/h (6 mph). (Sinc th nmbr of vhiclhors dos not chang, th nmbr of mployhors and thrfor th mploy costs will not chang.) Figr 5B shows th ffct on th oprating cost pr vhiclkilomtr d to rdcing th avrag vhicl spd to 9.6 km/h (6 mph). Significant incrass in th cost pr vhiclkilomtr wold occr for most of th fastr oprations, bt th oprating cost pr vhiclkilomtr, and ths th diffrncs in th systm prkilomtr oprating costs, ar partially, bt not ntirly, a fnction of th diffrncs in avrag spd. Effct of Employ Costs Th actal mploy costs (wags and salaris pls pnsions pls othr bnfits) pr mploy rang from $9774 to $18 744/yar. Employ costs constitt 72 to 91 prcnt of oprating costs; hnc vn a small diffrnc in mploy avrag arning btwn oprations will mak a significant diffrnc in th oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr. Th ffcts of ths diffrnt mploy costs wr dtrmind by adjsting th oprating costs so that all mploys in ach opration rcivd an avrag wag and salary, pnsion, and fring bnfits total of $18 744/mploy. Figr 5C shows th rslts of th mploy cost adjstmnt on th oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr at a 9.6km/h (6mph) spd. Excpt for thr oprations, th oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr aftr adjstmnts for spd and mploy costs ar all approximatly qal. Employ costs for th thr rmaining oprations rprsnt 72 to 78 prcnt of thir oprating costs. Othr cost componnts constitt too small a prcntag of oprating costs to accont for th diffrnc in magnitd of oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr among ths thr oprations and th othr nin. On possibl rason for ths thr oprations having signific antly diffrnt costs cold b that th vhiclkilomtrs (aftr adjstmnt) pr mploy ar significantly diffrnt from thos of th othr nin oprations. This is xplord in th nxt sction. PRODUCTIVITY VhiclKilomtrs pr Employ Figr 6 shows th actal prodctivity in trms of actal vhiclkilomtrs and adjstd vhiclkilomtrs opratd at 9.6 km/h (6 mph). Evn aftr adjstmnts hav bn mad to avrag spd, thr ar significant diffrncs in th prodctivity of diffrnt transit oprations. This diffrnc in prodctivity dos not appar to b d to th nmbr of hors an mploy works pr day. Figr 6 also shows that, with two xcptions, privat transit oprations ar mor prodctiv than pblic transit oprations. Howvr, Niagara Frontir Transit, on of th two lowprodctivity privat oprations, bcam a pblic

5 19 Figr 5. Effcts on total oprating cost pr vhiclkilomtr if all oprations opratd at th sam vhicl spd and all mploys rcivd th sam compnsation. A c Total Oprating Cost Pr Total Oprating Cost pr Rvn Total Oprating Cost Pr Rvn Rvn Vhicl Kilomtr Vhicl Kilomtr Adjstd for Vhicl Kilomtr Adjstd to Oprating Spd of 9. 6 KPH (6 MPH) Constant Opra ting Spd and Constant Avrag Employ Cost ' :&.,_ ( (.6 (. I,_ t. 6. ] c Larg Small 3 Larg!li.. JO t: ffl l g;,.. < "" " " l Lorg" Oprations ar arrangd from largst to smallst basd on vhicl hors of opration sma p Figr 6. Prodctivity of transit bs oprations in trms of rvn vhiclkilomtrs pr mploy at oprating spd of company and at adjstd oprating spd of 9.6 km/h (6 mph) ) At 9.6 KPH At Spd of Company. <.n.n. < " t' H " " H. H..n z a H 3!::: 1< " ",., " "" (Variation in prodctivity is dcrasd whn oprating spd is adjstd).':; opration in Ths, if th analysis had bn don a yar latr, it wold show fiv pblic oprations, all of which ar lss prodctiv than th privat oprations with only on xcption. This sggsts that th lowr prodctivity of pblic oprations may b xplaind by th fact that th last prodctiv (oftn th last profitabl) privat oprations tnd to bcom pblic oprations. It is not bcas oprations ar pblic that thy ar nprodctiv, bt th rvrs: Unprodctiv oprations tnd to bcom pblic. VhiclHors pr Day pr Employ Figr 7 A shows th prodctivity of oprations in trms of vhiclhors pr day pr mploy, and Figr 7B shows th adjstd mploy costs pls oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr at 9.6 km/h (6 mph). As prodctivity incrass, th adjstd costs pr adjstd vhiclkilomtr tnd to dcras. This is particlarly tr for th thr transit oprations that had significantly diffrnt costs pr kilomtr aftr all adjstmnts had bn mad. Wstchstr Strt Transportation Company and Clb Transportation Corporation hav significantly lowr costs pr kilomtr aftr adjstmnts hav bn mad and hav th highst prodctivity. Librty Coachs, Inc., had th highst cost pr kilomtr and th lowst prodctivity. Ths, diffrnt avrag vhicl spds, diffrnt mploy costs pr mploy, and in som cass, diffrnt prodctivitis pr mploy ar th rasons why transit oprations hav diffrnt costs pr vhiclkilomtr. Figr 7A shows (in parnthss) th actal mploy costs pr mploy for ach of ths oprations. Thr sms to b littl rlation btwn mploy costs pr mploy and prodctivity. Employ costs pr m ploy (or mploy avrag arnings) do not sm to b rlatd to prodctivity. Employ costs may possibly b rlatd to passngrs pr mploy. Figr 8 shows th mploy costs pr

6 2 Figr 7. Comparison of mploy prodctivity in trms of vhicl hors pr mploy pr day and total adjstd oprating costs pr adjstd vhicl kilomtr. A Prodctivity of Transit Employs in 6 Trms of Rvn Vhicl Hors Pr Employ Pr Day Total Oprating Cost Adjstd for Oprating Spd of 9.6 KPH and Costant Employ Cost Pr Employ LO M :2 ::; N ; M :ri ;;.,.; d g d N d ; d d t < d d d d < c " w Ul < <.D "".,, Ul w,,,,.; Ul [;: iz I;! g E,. ( ) $ Avrag Employ Compnsation Oprations Arrangd in Ordr of Incrasing Prodctivity Figr 8. Comparison of mploy costs pr mploy and mploy prodctivity in trms of passngrs pr mploy.,.;,.;.,,.,, c, 15.c 14. B c 11."., c.:! 1 I Employ Cost Pr Employ (mploy avrag arnings), ra ",.;!. " fil 7 2 Q. t 1 c.d.,.,,, Prodctivity in Trms of Passngrs Pr Employ t U) Opt"ations arrangd according to incrasing mploy cost/mploy,. Ci c "" <.D.D,,,.; [;:, CY U) iz mploy for ach opration in incrasing ordr of costs and th corrsponding nmbr of passngrs pr mploy. For six oprations, as th nmbr of passngrs pr mploy incrass so do th mploy costs pr mploy. Howvr, for th othr six oprations, this rlationship dos not hold. Thrfor, thr sms to b no gnral rlationship that xplains why som transit mploys arn mor than othrs. Potntial for Rdcing premploy Costs by Incrasing Spds To fr thr invstigat th ffct of avrag vhicl spd on oprating costs, adjstmnts wr mad so that, if ach of ths systms had opratd at th sam avrag spd, thy wold all hav had approximatly th sam oprating costs pr vhiclkilomtr. This was don as follows: 1. Adjst th total oprating costs for ach systm to accont for th diffrnt mploy costs (wags and salaris, pnsions, and bnfits) among th systms so that th costs pr mploy for ach of ths systms wold b th sam; and 2. Divid th adjstd oprating costs by th nmbr of actal vhiclkilomtrs of opration. Th total adjstd oprating cost pr rvn vhiclkilomtr is plottd against th avrag oprating spd in Figr 9, which shows a dramatic dcras in oprat

7 21 Figr 9. Total oprating costs pls adjstd mploy costs pr rvn vhiclkilomtr vrss avrag vhicl spd MAB STOA Av B Qns NFT ibrty Stinway Wst Clb \ B Avrag Vhicl Spd ing costs pr vhiclkilomtr as th oprating spd inci ass from 9.6 to 19.2 km/h (6 to 12 mph). Th tabl blow shows th approximat prcnt dcras in oprating costs to b xpctd for ach kilomtrprhor incras in oprating spd (1 km/ h =.6 mph). Incras Dcras Incras Dcras (km/h) (%) (km/h) (%) 1 to to to to to to to to 18 5 (As th spd incrass toward 19.2 km/h (12 mph) th additional saving from frthr spd incrass bcoms lss.) As th avrag vhicl spd incrass, th sam nmbr of vhiclkilomtrs can b achivd with fwr vhiclhors. This allows th oprator to rdc th nmbr of mploy hors, ths dcrasing th mploy costs, which rprsnt 72 to 91 prcnt of th oprating costs, or, by oprating th sam nmbr of vhiclhors with incrasd vhicl spd, mor vhiclkilomtrs of srvic cold b providd withot gratly incrasing th oprating costs. Ths, by incrasing vhicl spd, th oprator has thr options: To rdc his oprating costs, whil maintaining th sam amont of srvic, 2. To maintain th sam oprating costs and incras th srvic providd, or 3. A combination of both. Bt incrass in avrag vhicl spd will not b asy to attain. Som oprations oprat at significantly slowr spds bcas of th onstrt traffic nvironmnt, particlarly dring rsh hors whn congstion on th strts is xtrmly high and whn th larg portion of bs srvic is providd. It may b possibl to incras th avrag vhicl spd by th limination of onstrt parking and bttr traffic nforcmnt. Frthr incrass in avrag vhicl spd wold probably b attainabl only by rstricting atomobil traffic or by implmntation of xclsiv bs lans or rightsofway. All of ths altrnativs ar byond th powrs of th transit oprator, and wold hav to b implmntd by othr govrnmnt agncis. To prodc a cost savings in th short rn, if a highr avrag vhicl spd wr achivd, th nmbr of mploy hors wold hav to b rdcd, and with a strong transit nion that may b difficlt. Evn if th fr flow of transit vhicls wr possibl, th avrag vhicl spd wold not b incrasd by mor than a fw kilomtrs pr hor bcas th distanc btwn bs stops, th nmbr of signalizd intrsctions, and th nmbr of popl boarding at a bs stop all affct th avrag spd and st an ppr limit on how fast a bs can oprat withot changs in srvic. Thr ar othr advantags to incrasing th avrag vhicl spd. If th prim dtrminants of mod choic (choosing th bs ovr any othr mod for a trip) ar frqncy of srvic, travl tim, and cost, thn incrasing th transit vhicl spd will shortn th travl tim by bs, which will incras th nmbr of passngrs sing transit. Shortr hadways cold also b obtaind if srvic wr incrasd, which shold also incras ridrship. Eithr of ths options incrass th nmbr of passngrs carrid, ths incrasing th oprating rvn, which will hlp to rdc th oprating dficit. In smmary, th obstacls to obtaining a highr avrag vhicl spd for a bs opration ar nmros, bt th bnfits ar high. Incrasing th avrag vhicl spd by 1 km/h (.6 mph), particlarly for lowr spd oprations, cold rdc th oprating costs btwn 5 and 12 prcnt withot rdctions in srvic. Incrasing spd wold also hlp incras rvn bcas shortr travl tim by transit wold incras th nmbr of rvnpaying passngrs. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS W wish to thank David T. Hartgn and Carol A. Kck for thir sggstions and commnts, and th Nw York Stat Dpartmnt of Transportation Planning Rsarch Unit for providing th opportnity to prform this r sarch. W also thank Linda Wilson, Wilma Marhafr, and Barbara Blowrs for th prparation of th man script. Th athors accpt th rsponsibility for rrors of fact, concpt, or opinion. REFERENCES 1. Sction 1 Stdy. Planning Rsarch Unit, Nw York Stat Dpartmnt of Transportation, Tchnical Docmntation Rpt., May Pblic Transportation Oprating Assistanc: Evalation and Options. Planning Rsarch Unit, Nw York Stat Dpartmnt of Transportation, Fb W. C. Holthoff. Cost Incrass, Cost Diffrncs, and Prodctivity of Transit Oprations in Nw York Stat. Nw York Stat Dpartmnt of Transportation, Prliminary Rsarch Rpt. 94, W. C. Holthoff and R. G. Knighton. Cost Incrass, Cost Diffrncs, and Prodctivity of Transit Oprations in Nw York Stat. Nw York Stat Dpartmnt of Transportation, Prliminary Rsarch Rpt. 11, Pblication of this papr sponsord by Committ on Pblic Transportation Planning and Dvlopmnt. *This rsarch was condctd at th Nw York Stat Dpartmnt of Transportation.