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The difference in revenues collected by the private companies

in 1972 and the Authority's 1973 revenues, adjusted for changes in

fares, amounts to $1,295,486.

The interline fare provided for a

discount of 5 cents when transferring from one company bus to another,

therefore, based on the minimum fare in effect (40 cents), an interline

rider would have to pay at least 35 cents when boarding the second bus.

When dividing the 35 cents into the revenue difference of $1,295,486,

the interline ridership amounts to 3,701,389. The difference in

ridership as shown above amounts to 7,260,000; therefore, it must be

assumed that in estimating annual ridership the private companies,

as i de from double counting interline riders, overstated ridership by

3,559,000 riders.

Ridership counts were taken very infrequently by the private

companies, therefore, average fares used by the companies to determine

ridership could at any time become distorted, resulting in an overstate

ment of ridership.

The Authority, since takeover, has conducted ridership counts in

1974 and 1975. These counts included the counting of all riders board

ing and paying a full fare.

Transfer riders were not counted.

Counts

were conducted on six different weekdays, three Saturdays and

Sundays.

It is therefore the opinion of the Authority that ridership

reported by the private companies was overstated by at least 5.85%

(124,069,000 vs. 116,809,000). This percentage does not consider

any growth by the Authority from the date of takeover to the end of

the first 12 months of operation. During this period time, however,

the Authority did have a ridership growth, which can be substantiated

by the increase in revenues collected in FY 75 over FY 74 as shown below:

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FY 74 (7/1/73 - 6/30/74)

$53,650,739

FY 75 (7/1/74 - 6/30/75)

$56,639,577

Based on the above, ridership for years 1968 - 1972 as shown below

has been revised to eliminate the interline ridership and overstatement

Additional Data
November 24, 1975 Request

Ridership Estimation

Questions 15 & 16: This data is crucial in any effort to calculate the price

elasticity of demand, a calculation which is critical in long-term

assumptions about fare level ridership assumptions.

Is there any way

to reasonably estimate or infer these values ?

In reply to questions 15 and 16, a study entitled "Bus Fare Subs i dy

Study'' is submitted for your review.

This report discusses the effects

of fare increases and decreases and shows the effects of fare changes in

other cities.

(See Committee files for Bus Fare Subsidy Study, Memorandum Report No. 16, prepared for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, By William Smith and Associates)

November 24, 1975 Request

1974 Net Income Analysis

Question 2:

Please submit a list of the total amount of the established parking spaces available for each year since 1969, broken down by station.

The report on Parking at Metro Stations is

attached.

1974 Net Income Analysis

A complete revised 1974 Net Incone Analysis.

The final report for this study consists of three basic documents:

The computer listings are completed; the technical papers, with one exception,. are completed; and a draft of the compendium is attached. This draft must be reviewed by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, UMTA, and the various area jurisdictions. At this time, the 1974 Net Income Analysis Study is complete and the documentation is, in the main, in draft form.

3 Please quantify the effects

It is not possible to perfoim an analysis to quantify the effects of deleting certain elements of the highway system assumed in the study without repeating the complete existing analysis. All of the procedures and computer programs are oriented to producing system wide results from system wide inputs. After the computation of various phases of the processing flow, it is possible to examine details of the system such as station level data but such detail is part of a complete system solution.

#5 Please detail the change

concerning land use ..."

This item is presented in Chapter 11, Future Land Use and Highway System, of the draft final report enclosed under item #1.