Public Choice in Transit Organization and Finance: The Structure of Support
Abstract
The nature of support for public transit spending and organizational structure in a heavily automobile-dependent region is explored thorough structural equation modeling based on survey data from 500 randomly selected households in southeast Michigan. Alternative factors underlying support for transit taxation are tested, including congestion relief, environmental conservation, social service provision, perceived future need, and general attitude toward government spending. The study finds a surprisingly strong endorsement of transit as a necessary social service and concludes that in automobile-dependent areas, transit’s primary task when appealing for locally generated financing is to demonstrate its success in serving as the bottom-line guarantor of mobility for the young, elderly, disabled, unemployed, and poor.
Get full access to this article
View all access and purchase options for this article.
References
1. Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle. 1992 Regional Transportation Voter Survey: Wave Two—Total Sample Results. Gilmore Research Group, Seattle, Wash., 1993.
2. Transit Now National Public Opinion Survey on Transportation Issues and Policies: Ten Key Findings. America’s Coalition for Transit Now, Washington, D.C., 1990.
3. Downs A. Stuck in Traffic. Brookings, Washington, D.C., 1992.
4. Forkenbrock D. J., and Stoner J. W. Support for a Local Transit Tax. Transportation Research A, Vol. 18A, No. 3, 1983, pp. 243–252.
5. Trent R. B., and Bernard H. R. Local Public Support for an Innovative Transit System. Journal of Advanced Transportation, Vol. 19, No. 3, 1985, pp. 237–249.
6. Sheskin I. M., and Stopher P. R. Spatial Variations in Attitudes Toward Expanded Public Transit Service. Transportation, Vol. 15, 1988, pp. 211–232.
7. Rosenbloom S. The Transportation Disadvantaged. In Gray G. E., and Hoel L. A., Public Transportation, 2d ed., Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1992, pp. 583–616.
8. Tiebout C. M. A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures. Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 64, 1956, pp. 416–424.
9. Temple J. A. A Community Composition and Voter Support for Tax Limitations: Evidence from Home-Rule Elections. Southern Economic Journal, Vol. 62, 1996, pp. 1002–1016.
10. Buchanan J., and Tullock G. The Calculus of Consent: Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1962.
11. Joreskog K. G., and Sorbom D. LISREL 7: A Guide to the Program and Applications, 2d ed. SPSS Inc., Chicago, Ill., 1989.
12. Bentler P. M. The Independence of Theory, Methodology, and Empirical Data: Causal Modeling as an Approach to Construct Validation. In Longitudinal Drug Research (Kandel D. B., ed.), Wiley, New York, 1978, pp. 267–302.
13. Anderson J. G. Structural Equation Modeling in the Social and Behavioral Sciences: Model Building. Child Development, Vol. 58, 1987, pp. 49–64.
14. Bollen K. A. Structural Equations with Latent Variables. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1989.
15. Hocevar D., and Marsh H. W. Application of Confirmatory Factor Analysis to the Study of Self-Concept: First-and Higher Order Factor Models and Their Invariance Across Groups. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 97, 1985, pp. 562–582.
16. Cudeck R., and O’Dell L. Applications of Standard Error Estimates in Unrestricted Factor Analysis: Significance Tests for Factor Loadings and Correlations. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 115, 1994, pp. 475–487.
Cite article
Cite article
Cite article
OR
Download to reference manager
If you have citation software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice
Information, rights and permissions
Information
Published In
Article first published: January 1999
Issue published: January 1999
Authors
Metrics and citations
Metrics
Journals metrics
This article was published in Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board.
VIEW ALL JOURNAL METRICSArticle usage*
Total views and downloads: 51
*Article usage tracking started in December 2016
Altmetric
See the impact this article is making through the number of times it’s been read, and the Altmetric Score.
Learn more about the Altmetric Scores
Articles citing this one
Receive email alerts when this article is cited
Web of Science: 0
Crossref: 4
- Improving Revenue Adequacy by Indexing the Gas Tax to Indicators of Ne...
- Governmental Subsidies for Public Transit...
- Structural equation modeling for travel behavior research
Figures and tables
Figures & Media
Tables
View Options
Get access
Access options
If you have access to journal content via a personal subscription, university, library, employer or society, select from the options below:
loading institutional access options
Alternatively, view purchase options below:
Purchase 24 hour online access to view and download content.
Access journal content via a DeepDyve subscription or find out more about this option.
