Cost of MAX

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“It must always be remembered how cost-effectiveness works in the public sector: the cost IS the benefit.” - author unknown

The Real Cost of MAX

Line	Open Date	Cost of construction	CPI Change	Cost - 2010 dollars
Green .	Sept 12, 2009	$575.7 million;	0.92%	$581 million
Interstate	May 1, 2004	$350 million	15.26%	$403 million
Airport	Sept. 10, 2001	$125 million	22.25%	$153 million
Westside	Sept. 12, 1998	$963 million	33.23%	$1,283 million
Eastside	Sept 5, 1986	$214 million	101.26%	.$431 million
TOTAL inflation adjusted construction cost:				$2851 million

Notes:

Inflation data from: http://inflationdata.com/inflation/Inflation_Calculators/Cumulative_Inflation_Calculator.aspx calculated from opening date month & year to mid year 2010 (June )
Construction cost form Trimet web site pages indicated above
Operating cost from 2010 National Transit Database ntdprogram.gov/ntdprogram/pubs/profiles/2010/agency_profiles/0008.pdf
Thirty year annualizing factor of 0.0806 based on Federal guidelines

Trimet’s MAX lines

Interstate MAX: http://trimet.org/about/history/yellowline.htm

Opened: May 1, 2004; Cost: $350 million; Federal Transit Administration: 74%

Airport MAX: http://trimet.org/about/history/redline.htm

Opened: Sept. 10, 2001; Cost: $125 million; no federal dollars

Westside MAX: Blue Line http://trimet.org/about/history/westblueline.htm

Opened: Sept. 12, 1998; Cost: $963 million; Federal Transit Administration: 73%

Eastside MAX: Blue Line http://trimet.org/about/history/eastblueline.htm

Opened: Sept 5, 1986; Cost: $214 million; Federal Transit Administration: 83%

Green Line MAX: http://trimet.org/about/history/greenline.htm

Opened: Sept 12, 2009; Cost: $575.7 million; Federal Transit Administration: 72%

Total Cost of MAX
Item	Amount	Source
Construction cost	$2851 million	above
Annualized construction cost	$229.8 million	cost of construction x 30 yr annualizing factor
Annual MAX passenger-miles	208,779,167	from National Transit Database, 2010
Construction cost of MAX	$1.10/pass-mile	annual construction $ / passenger-miles
Operating cost of MAX	$0.51/pass-mile	from National Transit Database, 2010
Total cost of MAX	$1.61/pass-mile	construction cost + operating cost

The actual cost of MAX is $1.61 per passenger-mile

This surprising number is arrived at by doing something the transit industry does not like to talk about:

Including construction costs!

(Some costs such as utility relocation, under value land acquisition, etc. are still NOT included.)

Here is how we calculated this from government and Trimet data:

All calculations are clearly shown using standard methods.

The methods used have been peer reviewed by a transit system auditor.

Below is how we calculated this from government and Trimet data. All calculations are clearly shown using standard methods. The methods have been peer reviewed by a transit system auditor.

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