OPERATING COSTS

Calculation of Estimated Operating Costs

Estimated operating costs for the Huntington streetcar system have been calculated by applying unit costs to projected vehicle miles under the various operating scenarios developed in Operations area of the site. Unit costs are based on similar systems in other cities, as shown in the following table:

TABLE 9-1 OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE COSTS OF VINTAGE STREETCAR SYSTEMS IN SELECTED CITIES
SYSTEM	ANNUAL MILES	ANNUAL O&M COSTS	O&M COST/MILE	NOTES
Fort Collins, CO	1,380	$2,760	$2.00	Largely volunteer work force
Tucson, AR	7,000	$35,000	$5.00	Largely volunteer work force
New Orleans, LA	677,923	$3,400,000	$5.02
Dallas, TX	46,000	$325,000	$8.46	Some volunteers
El Paso, TX	77,670	$771,000	$9.94	Projected costs
Galveston, TX	21,300	$325,000	$15.28
Seattle, WA	30,800	$579,600	$18.82
San Jose, CA	22,400	$641,500	$28.64

Source: Construction Costs and Operating Characteristics of Vintage Trolleys, Federal Transit Administration, 1992; El Paso Streetcar Reactivation Project, Kimley Horn & Associates, 1995.

Based on typical experience reported for the systems listed above, and eliminating the extremes reported, a typical cost per mile could be anticipated to lie in the range of $8 to $15, with a reasonable average of $12.00 per mile. We calculate the "Annual Miles" by taking the hours and multiplying it by 4.8 miles (assuming a total distance of 1.6 miles per round trip) which would be the equivalent of 3 round trips per hour,

ESTIMATED ANNUAL OPERATING COSTS
SERVICE LEVEL	ANNUAL HOURS	ANNUAL MILES	ANNUAL COST @ $8/MILE	ANNUAL COST @ $12/MILE	ANNUAL COST @ $15/MILE
360 Days/Yr 15 hr. Days	5400	25,920	$207,360	$311,040	$388,800
310 Days/Yr. 12 hr. Days	3720	17,856	$142,848	$214,272	$267,840

Operating Costs Compared to Revenues

Estimating ridership of vintage trolley lines is extremely difficult. Commonly used computer models are not "fine-grain" enough for this purpose, and there is not enough empirical data for such systems to allow for comparison. However, there is a fairly consistent relationship between the amount of service provided and the ridership which can reasonably be expected to be generated. This relationship is the average number of passengers per vehicle mile. Table 9-4 shows the number of passengers per vehicle mile experienced on seven vintage trolley systems in operation around the country. The range is between 5.1 and 8.6, with an average of just over six.

TABLE 9-4 PASSENGERS PER VEHICLE MILE ON SELECTED VINTAGE TROLLEY SYSTEMS
SYSTEM	ANNUAL RIDERSHIP	ANNUAL VEHICLE MILES	PASSENGERS PER MILE
Dallas, TX	236,000	46,000	5.1
Memphis, TN	522,000	97,600	5.4
Galveston, TX	120,000	21,300	5.6
San Jose, CA	140,000	22,400	6.4
Seattle, WA	200,000	30,800	6.4
Fort Collins, CO	9,000	1,380	6.5
Tucson, AR	60,000	7,000	8.6

TABLE 9-5 ESTIMATED ANNUAL RIDERSHIP
SERVICE SCENARIO	ESTIMATED ANNUAL RIDERSHIP
360 Days - 15hr. /day service	155,520
310 Days - 12 hr. / day service	107,136

Assuming that the proposed Huntington streetcar system holds to the pattern, it is expected that the line can generate six passengers per mile. For the three operating scenarios, this results in annual ridership shown in Table 9-5.

The revenue generated by this ridership is directly dependent on the fares charged.

TABLE 9-6 ESTIMATED ANNUAL REVENUE
SERVICE SCENARIO	ESTIMATED ANNUAL REVENUE
360 Days - 15hr. /day service	$77,760.00
310 Days - 12 hr. / day service	$53,568.00

If the streetcar system fare structure is similar to that of the present rubber-tired trolley, a base fare of Fifty Cents ($0.50) could be charged. If the streetcar system also adopts the use of the $2.00 daily pass. This results in the revenues shown in Table 9-6.

Net Estimated Operating Results

The estimated revenues are compared with the estimated operating expenses in Table 9-7. The table shows the expected net income or deficit which results from each of the service scenarios and for each of the three operating cost assumptions.

TABLE 9-7 ESTIMATED OPERATING RESULTS
SERVICE SCENARIO	NET RESULTS AT COST OF $8/MILE	NET RESULTS AT COST OF $12/MILE	NET RESULTS AT COST OF $15/MILE
360 Days/Yr 15 hr. Days	($129,600.00)	($233,280.00)	($311,040.00)
310 Days/Yr. 12 hr. Days	($ 89,280.00)	$($161,280.00)	($214,272.00

The above results show that the streetcar system can be operated without incurring an operating deficit only if costs are kept to a minimum. For purposes of this study, it is appropriate to consider the possibility that an operating deficit may occur. Therefore, a discussion of various means by which this deficit can be met is included in the Funding area of the site.

A key area for resolution in the next phase of the project is the degree to which the fare structure and fares charged will be independent of the present rubber tired trolley system. The above calculations assume that the streetcar will be completely independent. If, for example, a trolley rider will be permitted to also ride the streetcar at no additional fare, the revenue calculations will be dramatically changed. However, to the extent that the streetcar generates new and additional usage, it should receive appropriate accounting credit. This determination is beyond the scope of the present work, but should be the subject of later phases.