Economics

Year:

Student Name:

Title:

Understanding the Determinants of Public Transit in Canada: 1981-2016

Supervisor:

Year: 

2022-23

Student
Name:

John (Hunter) Hache

Title:

Determining the Required Operation Subsidy of Canadian Transit Agencies: As Examination of Public Transit Operating Deficits in Canada

Supervisor:

Justin Beaudoin

Abstract:

Public transit systems can reduce road congestion, decrease air pollution, and provide affordable transportation within the areas they service. Despite continued growth in Canadian urban transit ridership levels over the past years, public transit systems across Canada consistently earn less revenue than they spend to remain operational. The difference between transit agencies’ operating revenue and operating expenditures (known as the operating deficit) is covered by government subsidies which allow public transit to continue working. As more funding becomes available for new transit projects and current transit services, it is essential to understand how much each transit agency requires to remain in operation. This thesis conducts a regression analysis on the determinants of transit demand to estimate the expected per-trip operating deficit a transit agency will experience. Data collected by Statistics Canada and the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) is used to generate two models which can predict the per-trip subsidy a public transit agency will require based on transit demand levels in the region it services. Data collected from the years 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2016 from 104 Canadian Transit agencies is used in this study. Transit demand is accounted for with Canadian census data, and findings show that demographic and socioeconomic factors that impact ridership levels among transit users have varying effects on the per-trip subsidy a transit service requires. These effects reveal diseconomies of scale within large, urban transit agencies and explain the relationship between transit demand and transit costs. The results from this analysis allow policymakers to predict expected costs for current transit infrastructure, and determine expected future costs for new transit projects.

Year: 

2022-23

Student
Name:

Mack Murphy

Title:

A Simulation of the Costs and Firm Level Incentives in Alkanolamine Flue Gas Carbon Capture

Supervisor:

Justin Beaudoin

Abstract:

This thesis quantifies the firm-level incentives and describes the capital and operating costs of implementing alkanolamine-based flue gas carbon capture systems designed to capture 100 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (100 % of carbon dioxide generated) per day in a coal-fired power plant. Determining the costs and the areas where firms could be incentivized to engage with alkanolamine flue gas carbon capture systems are both important in assessing the economic viability of this carbon dioxide emission mitigation technology. This thesis takes a simulation approach, assessing the viability of four of the most prevalent alkanolamine molecules currently being used for carbon carpture: monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, methyl diethanolamine, and aminomethyl propanol. Each of these four chemicals are simulated independently in the same conceptual flue gas carbon capture process. Simulating the process with a consistent layout across all four alkanolamines permits a more reasonable direct comparison of the cost and incentive differences arising from the properties unique to each chemical. Component prices and operating parameters were determined based on available data, with a focus on the chemical and engineering implications associated with all components, parameters, and chemicals involved. Where data was not available, various ad hoc methods were used to derive a given cost. Capture process operation parameters were varied to suit the requirements dictated by the specific chemical properties of each alkanolamine. The results indicate that monoethanolamine, the most pervasive alkanolamine currently in use for carbon capture, was the least expensive from a capital and operating cost standpoint. Diethanolamine was the second least expensive by capital costs, and third least expensive by operating costs. Aminomethyl propanol was the third least expensive by capital costs, and second least expensive by operating costs. Methyl diethanolamine was the most expensive by capital and operating costs. The degree to which a firm would be incentivized to implement a flue gas carbon capture system was not consistent across all four alkanolamines. In all simulations, firm level incentives were subject to specific prices and parameters, with solvent circulation rate improvements or coal subsidies offering the greatest potential for incentive impacts.