Estimating commuter benefits of a new transit system: Evidence from New York City’s ferry service

Justin Tyndall

Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2025, vol. 114, issue C

Abstract: This paper estimates the impact of a new transit system on worker outcomes, accounting for endogenous worker decisions. I examine the phased opening of New York City’s commuter ferry system. I find evidence of a small but significant shift in commuting flows, towards routes with ferry service, driven by middle-to-high-income workers. I then propose and estimate a novel structural neighborhood choice model that recovers workers’ valuation of ferry service and the aggregate effects of the system on employment. Higher-income workers display a stronger preference for the ferry. Ferry routes also match the location preferences of higher-income workers, allowing these workers to capture almost all direct benefits from the new system. Differing home and work location preferences across income groups largely determine who benefits from a new transit system.

Keywords: Transportation; Transit; Neighborhood choice; Ferry; Structural estimation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J64 R13 R23 R40 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:regeco:v:114:y:2025:i:c:s0166046225000493

DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2025.104132

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