IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/transp/v41y2014i1p157-172.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The revenue and environmental benefits of new off-peak commuter rail service: the case of the Pascack Valley line in New Jersey

Author

Listed:
  • Devajyoti Deka
  • Thomas Marchwinski

Abstract

Although researchers have long argued in favor of off-peak transit service, studies that have empirically estimated its benefits regarding revenue generation, trip diversions, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission are rare. This study provides important evidence about the benefits of off-peak commuter rail service by focusing on the Pascack Valley line in New Jersey, where off-peak service was introduced in October 2007. The research involved two focus groups and an onboard survey of passengers. Benefits were estimated regarding additional revenue generation and reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and GHG emission. The research shows that the new off-peak service potentially reduced VMT by more than 12 million annually due to diversions from other modes. Although diversions from other modes resulted in a substantial reduction in GHG emissions, due to the additional diesel fuel used by the new trains, the net GHG savings were in the range of 28–49 %. The research further shows that both peak period and off-peak riders benefited from the new off-peak service. Evidence is found about an increase in new transit riders and a modest increase peak period usage because of the off-peak service. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Devajyoti Deka & Thomas Marchwinski, 2014. "The revenue and environmental benefits of new off-peak commuter rail service: the case of the Pascack Valley line in New Jersey," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 157-172, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:41:y:2014:i:1:p:157-172
    DOI: 10.1007/s11116-013-9495-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11116-013-9495-0
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11116-013-9495-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jared R. VandeWeghe & Christopher Kennedy, 2007. "A Spatial Analysis of Residential Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 11(2), pages 133-144, April.
    2. Voith, Richard, 1991. "The long-run elasticity of demand for commuter rail transportation," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 360-372, November.
    3. Chaug-Ing Hsu & Shwu-Ping Guo, 2005. "Externality reductions in residential areas due to rail transit networks," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 39(3), pages 555-566, September.
    4. Poudenx, Pascal & Merida, Walter, 2007. "Energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions from urban passenger transportation versus availability of renewable energy: The example of the Canadian Lower Fraser Valley," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 1-9.
    5. Voith, Richard, 1997. "Fares, Service Levels, and Demographics: What Determines Commuter Rail Ridership in the Long Run?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 176-197, March.
    6. Yihsu Chen & Alexander Whalley, 2012. "Green Infrastructure: The Effects of Urban Rail Transit on Air Quality," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 58-97, February.
    7. Christopher Kennedy, 2002. "A comparison of the sustainability of public and private transportation systems: Study of the Greater Toronto Area," Transportation, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 459-493, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nicolas Gendron-Carrier & Marco Gonzalez-Navarro & Stefano Polloni & Matthew A. Turner, 2022. "Subways and Urban Air Pollution," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 164-196, January.
    2. William T O'Brien & Christopher A Kennedy & Andreas K Athienitis & Ted J Kesik, 2010. "The Relationship between Net Energy Use and the Urban Density of Solar Buildings," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 37(6), pages 1002-1021, December.
    3. Yizhen Gu & Chang Jiang & Junfu Zhang & Ben Zou, 2021. "Subways and Road Congestion," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(2), pages 83-115, April.
    4. Asensio, J., 2000. "The success story of Spanish suburban railways: determinants of demand and policy implications," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 295-302, October.
    5. Rahman, Moshiur & Yasmin, Shamsunnahar & Eluru, Naveen, 2019. "Controlling for endogeneity between bus headway and bus ridership: A case study of the Orlando region," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 208-219.
    6. Steven I.-J. Y. Chien & Chuck F. M. Tsai, 2007. "Optimization of Fare Structure and Service Frequency for Maximum Profitability of Transit Systems," Transportation Planning and Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(5), pages 477-500, July.
    7. Baum-Snow, Nathaniel & Kahn, Matthew E., 2000. "The effects of new public projects to expand urban rail transit," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 241-263, August.
    8. Guimarães, Vanessa de Almeida & Leal Junior, Ilton Curty & da Silva, Marcelino Aurélio Vieira, 2018. "Evaluating the sustainability of urban passenger transportation by Monte Carlo simulation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 732-752.
    9. Stefan Bauernschuster & Timo Hener & Helmut Rainer, 2017. "When Labor Disputes Bring Cities to a Standstill: The Impact of Public Transit Strikes on Traffic, Accidents, Air Pollution, and Health," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 1-37, February.
    10. Li, Shanjun & Liu, Yanyan & Purevjav, Avralt-Od & Yang, Lin, 2019. "Does subway expansion improve air quality?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 213-235.
    11. Morrison, Geoffrey M. & Lin Lawell, C.-Y. Cynthia, 2016. "Does employment growth increase travel time to work?: An empirical analysis using military troop movements," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 180-197.
    12. Jukka Heinonen & Antti-Juhani Säynäjoki & Matti Kuronen & Seppo Junnila, 2012. "Are the Greenhouse Gas Implications of New Residential Developments Understood Wrongly?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(8), pages 1-20, August.
    13. Catherine Hausman & David S. Rapson, 2018. "Regression Discontinuity in Time: Considerations for Empirical Applications," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 533-552, October.
    14. Rafael Lalive & Simon Luechinger & Armin Schmutzler, 2013. "Does Supporting Passenger Railways Reduce Road Traffic Externalities?," ECON - Working Papers 110, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    15. Meina Zheng & Xiucheng Guo & Feng Liu & Jiayan Shen, 2021. "Contribution of Subway Expansions to Air Quality Improvement and the Corresponding Health Implications in Nanjing, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-19, January.
    16. Chi-Hong (Patrick) Tsai & Corinne Mulley & Geoffrey Clifton, 2014. "A Review of Pseudo Panel Data Approach in Estimating Short-run and Long-run Public Transport Demand Elasticities," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 102-121, January.
    17. Mayer, Thierry & Trevien, Corentin, 2017. "The impact of urban public transportation evidence from the Paris region," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1-21.
    18. Lin, Boqiang & Du, Zhili, 2017. "Can urban rail transit curb automobile energy consumption?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 120-127.
    19. Xiaoli Hu & Jieping Chen & Shanlang Lin, 2023. "Influence from highways’ development on green technological innovation: the case of Yangtze River economic belt in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(10), pages 11095-11120, October.
    20. Yujing Guo & Qian Zhang & Kin Keung Lai & Yingqin Zhang & Shubin Wang & Wanli Zhang, 2020. "The Impact of Urban Transportation Infrastructure on Air Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-25, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:41:y:2014:i:1:p:157-172. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.