Measuring the Benefits of Intercity Passenger Rail: A Study

passenger was approximately $120 in April and $160 in July (see Table 5-17). Additional
analysis of survey responses to this question follows.
One potential economic benefit of passenger rail service that researchers could easily
identify from the survey responses was the spending level of passengers at their destination, both
total spending and the associated sales tax revenue. Table 5-31 provides a summary of the
average passenger spending level and the sales tax revenue for each “destination” station area.
Researchers assigned a “destination” station to each survey record based on factors including the
boarding and alighting station and the passenger’s residential zip code. Destination stations with
passenger spending responses were identified for 417 survey records in the April data set
(96 percent) and for 531 records in the July data set (90 percent). Researchers computed the
average passenger spending level at each station per study period by using a midpoint value
assigned to each range of spending given as choices on the survey form. Total spending was
then calculated by distributing the average spending level for each station across the FFY 2009
boarding and alighting totals (see Table 3-4) for each station to either peak or non-peak travel
seasons. An adjustment was made to the passenger activity in Fort Worth to account for
passengers transferring to the Texas Eagle, as the expenditures by these passengers do not
remain in the Fort Worth area. Table 5-31 also reports sales tax rates for each community served
by the Heartland Flyer, provided by the Oklahoma Tax Commission and the Texas State
Comptroller of Public Accounts. Researchers applied these tax rates to the passenger spending
figures to estimate the total sales tax revenue generated from passenger spending.
Table 5-31: Spending and Sales Tax Revenue for Heartland Flyer Stations, FFY 2009
Destination
Station
Tax Rate
Passenger Spending
Total Average
Sales Tax Revenue
Total Average
Oklahoma City, OK 8.375% $5,876,150 $121.32 $454,097 $9.38
Norman, OK 8.25% 1,493,464 118.78 113,821 9.05
Pauls Valley, OK 9.0% 268,193 49.77 22,161 4.11
Ardmore, OK 8.75% 797,612 87.71 64,176 7.06
Gainesville, TX 8.25% 810,560 101.09 61,775 7.70
Fort Worth, TX 8.25% 8,786,451 170.97 669,637 13.03
Total -- 18,032,628 133.67 1,385,666 10.27
Note: No survey records were identified with Purcell as the “destination” station.
Researchers estimate that Heartland Flyer passengers spent approximately $18 million
on lodging, meals, shopping, and entertainment on their trips. Passenger spending in
123