Impacts of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on Surrounding Residential Property Values

As bus rapid transit (BRT) continues to grow in popularity in the United States (U.S.), a better understanding of the mode’s impacts on land uses and property values continues to be needed. Economic theory suggests, and literature has shown, that people are willing to pay higher housing costs in order to lower their transportation costs of accessing areas of economic activity. Does high-quality BRT service reliably provide such access and, thereby, increase residential property values? The hypothesis is that property values are higher closer to BRT stations, reflecting a premium for the access provided by the BRT service to various goods, services, employment, education, and recreation. There has been some work on this topic outside of the U.S.; however, due to various cultural, social, and institutional differences, those experiences may not be applicable to U.S. experiences. The literature reveals that, to date, very little work has been done on U.S. BRT systems’ impacts on property values using robust econometric techniques and/or spatial modeling (studies on Pittsburgh and Boston have been published). Further, because every BRT is different, it is necessary to continue analyzing additional case studies to provide a more robust understanding of how modern U.S. experiences with BRT services may affect surrounding property values. This research proposes to grow the relatively small body of literature on property value impacts of BRT in the U.S. by conducting a case study on Lane Transit District’s EmX BRT service (Eugene, OR), using econometric and spatial modeling techniques to estimate changes in property values associated with the BRT. (Depending on available resources, additional cities can be included as case studies.) The analysis will be based on hedonic price regression analysis, where sale prices are modeled using several property characteristics that contribute to the market or sale price (however, spatial modeling will also be used using geographic information systems, (GIS). The characteristics include the typical property attributes such as size, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, etc., but also include other variables such as any nuisance factors, neighborhood effects, and distance to key amenities, including BRT. The results of this research will provide further insight into how BRT services can enhance the livability and economic development in a community. Robust results will provide policymakers and the transit industry throughout the U.S. with the best information possible to make informed transit investment decisions in their communities.

• Record URL:
  http://nitc.trec.pdx.edu/research/project/894

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $269395
• Contract Numbers:

  NITC 894

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Lane Transit District

  P.O. Box 7070
  Eugene, OR  United States  97401-0470

  Florida Department of Transportation

  605 Suwannee Street
  Tallahassee, FL  United States  32399-0450
• Managing Organizations:

  TREC at Portland State University

  1900 SW Fourth Ave, Suite 175
  P.O. Box 751
  Portland, Oregon  United States  97201
• Project Managers:

  Hagedorn, Hau

• Performing Organizations:

  University of South Florida, Tampa

  Center for Urban Transportation Research
  3650 Spectrum Boulevard
  Tampa, FL  United States  33612-9446
• Principal Investigators:

  Perk, Victoria

  Catala, Martin

• Start Date: 20150801
• Expected Completion Date: 20170430
• Actual Completion Date: 20170430

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bus rapid transit; Economic development; Geographic information systems; Housing; Land use planning; Land values; Regression analysis
• Geographic Terms: Boston (Massachusetts); Eugene (Oregon); Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania)
• Subject Areas: Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01632276
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Institute for Transportation and Communities
• Contract Numbers: NITC 894
• Files: UTC, RiP
• Created Date: Apr 13 2017 12:43PM