Estimation and assessment of cost allocation models for main transit systems operating in Cairo

This paper reviews the main characteristics of the provision of urban transit systems in Cairo, namely buses, minibuses, river buses, trams and surface metros, all being currently operated by Cairo Transport Authority (CTA). It presents some generic types of indicators to compare and assess the performance of the five main urban transit systems provided by CTA. The CTA budget plan for the Financial Year 96/97 is reviewed. The absence of any form of cost modelling as an integral part of CTA budget plans is identified. Here, an attempt is made to develop cost models for the main urban transit systems operated by CTA. Four generic approaches for estimating cost models for transit services are comparatively reviewed, namely the causal factor, cost allocation, regression and temporal variation methods. Cost allocation methods are particularly applied in this research to estimate different cost models for the main transit systems operated by CTA. These models are meant to assist in predicting and showing the relative magnitude of expected changes in various cost categories, resulting from systems/services expansion or down-sizing for the transit modes operated by CTA. The development of such models is thought to contribute in raising the cost consciousness in CTA with the ultimate benefit of maximizing system efficiency.