The objective of this research was to measure the benefits of rural and small urban transit services in Minnesota. The study accomplished this by first identifying, describing, and classifying the potential benefits of transit. Second, a method was developed to measure these benefits. Where possible, benefits were quantified in dollar values. Other benefits that could not be quantified in monetary terms were either quantified in another way or described qualitatively. The study included an analysis of societal benefits and economic impacts within local communities. Third, the developed method was applied to a series of six case studies across Greater Minnesota. Data were collected through onboard rider surveys for each of the six transit agencies. Total benefits and benefit-cost ratios were estimated for the six transit agencies—all showed benefits that exceeded costs—and results were generalized to Greater Minnesota. Economic impacts were also estimated showing the effect on jobs, labor income, and value added. This research provides information to assess the benefits of public spending on transit, which gives decision makers the data needed to inform investment decisions.

这项研究的目的是衡量明尼苏达州农村和小城市过境服务的收益。该研究通过首先识别，描述和分类运输的潜在收益来实现这一目标。其次，开发了一种衡量这些收益的方法。在可能的情况下，收益以美元价值量化。其他无法用金钱来量化的收益，或者是以另一种方式进行量化或定性地描述。该研究包括对当地社区的社会效益和经济影响的分析。第三，将开发的方法应用于整个大明尼苏达州的一系列六个案例研究。通过对六个运输机构中的每一个的机上乘客调查收集数据。估计了六个运输机构的总收益和收益成本比，所有收益均超过成本，结果被推广到大明尼苏达州。还估计了经济影响，显示了对工作，劳动收入和增加值的影响。这项研究提供了评估公共交通支出收益的信息，从而为决策者提供了为投资决策提供信息所需的数据。