Operating and maintenance costs of light rail transit. Paper presented at the National Conference of the Transportation Research Board, Philadelphia, June 1975.

The costs of operating light rail lines, and how light rail can be more economical that other modes under certain conditions, are explained. Using 3 recent studies of proposed light rail lines as examples it is shown that new lines can be economically constructed and operated with a potential ridership of as little as 20000 daily passengers. The ease of implementation, the versatility of the mode, and passenger acceptance and preference, are also discussed.