The Redistributive Effects of Mass Transit Subsidies in Ann Arbor (Michigan).

Urban and regional planners have shown increasing concern in the recent past with the redistributive effects of plans and policies. This dissertation analyzes the changes in the distribution of income that takes place as a result of the financing and subsidization of a mass transportation system. The system considered here is in Ann Arbor, Michigan. During the time period covered by this work (1976-1977), mass transportation was provided through two integrated services--conventional buses and dem and responsive transit. A major portion of the system's financing comes from a tax on property dedicated for that purpose. The empirical analysis is based on survey data collected in 1976 by The University of Michigan's Survey Research Center. A sample of 1,190 Ann Arbor residents were questioned on their use of the transit system, and on a number of demographic characteristics. The data file also contains information on assessed value of owner-occupied homes in the sample, and the monthly rent of tenants. This makes it possible to determine the amount each person in the sample contributed to the system's support through the property tax. The research uses subsidy per passenger trip as a measure of benefit. Respondents have values calculated for how much each contributes to the system's financing, and for how much each benefits. It is found that a larger percentage of income from low-income groups goes to support the system than from high-income groups--a regressive pattern. Net benefits (benefits minus costs) as a percentage of income is found to be progressive. Costs and net benefits, taken as percentages of income, are also the subjects of bivariate and multivariate analyses in an effort to develop relationships between those variables and a set of independent variables. Income, automobile ownership, job status, and whether the respondent owns or rents a residence are all found to be related to the cost and benefit variables. Because most incidence studies use aggregate data, the income redistribution effects of the transit system's financing and subsidization is discussed using census tracts as the units of analysis. No clear patterns of incidence emerge. This suggests the efficacy of using individual-level data whenever possible.Ph.D.TransportationUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/159232/1/8304544.pd