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Valuing public transit: The L‐train shutdown

Becka Brolinson

Real Estate Economics, 2024, vol. 52, issue 3, 794-842

Abstract: In this article, I quantify the value of access to public transit in New York using the surprise, hurricane‐related announcement of the temporary shutdown of an important piece of transportation infrastructure: the L‐train connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan. My approach allows me to measure changes in housing sales prices by using a change in public transit infrastructure, that is, (a) temporary, and (b) not an outcome of city transit planning, but rather an unexpected consequence of a natural disaster. I find that the L‐train's shutdown announcement caused a temporary decrease in sales prices for affected housing units of 6.4%. This estimate suggests a monthly capitalization rate of public transit access of around $863 for housing units where the L‐train is the nearest subway stop, demonstrating that households in NYC ascribe a high value to transit access. Using these estimates, the benefits of the repair outweigh the costs, with the benefit‐to‐cost ratio of the repairs ranging from 2.76 to 2.78.

Date: 2024
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https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-6229.12488

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Working Paper: Valuing Public Transit: The L-Train Shutdown (2023) Downloads
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