Financial and Economic Analysis

It is one thing to plan transit service based on unconstrained demand and leave it at that. But transit providers live in a real world made up of budgets, grants, personnel, equipment, and politics. They need to understand not only what is optimal service to meet their communities’ needs, but also how much that service will cost, how they will fund it, and what labor and materials it will require.

CTG offers a range of services addressing every aspect of a transit operator’s budget on both the revenue and expense side of the ledger. Transit finance can often be overwhelming, but our detailed models and clear solutions help every agency small or large maximize their investment in public transport.

  • Operating and Maintenance (O&M) Cost Estimation Models – single and multi-variable
  • Cost and Service Allocation Models
  • Capital Improvement Plans
  • FTA New Starts Cost Effectiveness Analysis
  • Evaluation of Funding Sources
  • Non-traditional Funding Mechanisms
  • Financial Plans
  • Fare Policy and Structure Analyses
  • Fare Revenue Estimation
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Our services are built around four primary practice areas. Select an area to learn more about the services we offer and projects we’ve completed:

These are a few examples of our projects where our work involved transit cost and financial analysis.

Photo Denver RTD FasTracks Operations Planning Denver, CO We’ve developed rail and bus service plans, an automated operating statistics model, and a cost model in support of RTD’s ambitious 11-corridor multi-billion dollar transit investment. Download case study >

Photo DART General Planning Consultant Services Dallas, TX We’ve performed a variety of operations planning tasks for DART over the years, including O&M cost model development, FTA Before and After studies, system impacts analyses, and multiple corridor studies. Download case study >

Photo CMRTA COA and Comprehensive Study Columbia, SC We led a successful multi-firm effort to conduct a COA, Park and Ride Study, and Management Review within a tight 3.5-month timeframe. The outcome was a bold three-phased service and financial plan to transform CMRTA. Download case study >

Photo Monterey-Salinas Transit Fare Structure Analysis Monterey, CA We worked with MST to restructure their fares to increase trip equity and simplify fare classes while maintaining farebox recovery. Our custom fare model analyzed a range of scenarios for both current and future operations. Download case study >

Photo Clemson University Parking and Transportation Plan Clemson, SC Clemson is one of many universities we’ve worked at to improve the ridership productivity, service efficiency, and shared-cost equity of service through ride check surveying, public outreach, and route analysis. Download case study >