Commuter Rail Transit Price Elasticity of Demand: An Assessment for the New Mexico Rail Runner

Authors

Gwendolyn Aldrich
Heaven Handley
Gillian Joyce
Jeffrey Mitchell

Document Type

Technical Report

Publication Date

9-12-2011

Sponsorship

Rio Metro Regional Transit District, Mid-Region Council of Governments of New Mexico.

Publisher

University of New Mexico, Bureau of Business and Economic Research

Abstract

Facing large reductions in federal funding, the Rio Metro Regional Transit District (RMRTD) considered revenue options for the New Mexico Rail Runner (NMRX) commuter rail system. As part of that effort, the RMRTD asked the UNM Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) to examine the potential effect of increasing fares, including how it might impact ridership. BBER assessed the price elasticity of NMRX fares with a literature review and by surveying the experiences of nine regional mass transit systems that had changed their fares. The report concludes with a discussion of alternative methods for raising transit system revenues.

Recommended Citation

Aldrich, Gwendolyn; Heaven Handley; Gillian Joyce; and Jeffrey Mitchell. "Commuter Rail Transit Price Elasticity of Demand: An Assessment for the New Mexico Rail Runner." (2011). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/bber/102