Economic Impacts Of Long Range Transit Plan For Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMTA) developed alternative scenarios for long-range investment in rail public transport and highway transport within the region. Each has its own different cost and implication for transit ridership and highway traffic levels.

The team of Cambridge Systematics and Economic Development Research Group was engaged by LAMTA to assess the regional economic impacts of these alternative scenarios, as well as the benefit/cost ratios of the alternatives. The work was well-received as useful input into public decision-making, and the same team was hired again three years later to analyze the economic impacts of revised and updated alternatives.

For both studies, the regional impact analysis examined employment, income and business output consequences of the alternative plans. The analysis included use of the REMI economic impact simulation model, working with results of a transportation simulation model provided by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).

The benefit-cost analysis examined benefit/cost ratios for alternative plans, based on several different benefit measures. These include measures of time and expense benefit for travelers, and also measures of total income benefit for residents of the region.