Studies quantifying value added of transit often cannot differentiate whether the premiums are transit effects or location effects. Limited studies have examined the timing of value added. Using before and after data, this study explores the impact of the Green Line LRT on housing sales prices. Compared to the studied period before its funding announcement, its announcement increased housing values by $9.2/sq ft and its commencement increased sales prices by $13.7/sq ft. Further analyses show that housing value appreciation actually occurred after the announcement but before the commencement. Thus, using the right timing of value added is critical for value capture programs and benefit–cost analysis.

This research seeks to explain patterns of capital investment and operating expenses for urban transit systems in the United States. We isolate supply factors including urban scales, urban spatial form and financial capacity. Individual and group transit demands are accounted for by social and demographic characteristics including education level, immigrant populations, poverty levels, senior population and race. The results demonstrate that transit investments are super-linear to population, directly contradicting predictions of Bettencourt’s popular urban scale theory. Transit expenses are explained primarily by urban scales, urban spatial form and financial capacity, but demand forces such as poverty, car usage and political ideology have strong effects as well.