ESTIMATING WHETHER TRANSPORT USERS PAY THEIR WAY: THE STATE OF THE ART. IN: THE FULL COSTS AND BENEFITS OF TRANSPORTATION: CONTRIBUTIONS TO THEORY, METHOD AND MEASUREMENT

This paper examines some of the problems in estimating whether transportation users pay their way using five recent and widely cited studies in urban passenger transportation costs as illustrations. All studies cited find that automobile users do not pay their way, and the three of the five that consider public transit in detail find that its passengers also fail to pay their costs. While the broad conclusions of the studies are similar, the details are quite dissimilar. The paper provides an overview of the studies to help understand why the details differ.