Money. It's the one factor that defines the long-term success or failure of a transit system. Despite the need to clean up air, soil and water pollution, money seems to be the most important part... How much will it cost to build?... How many people riding it will be required to pay for its operation?... Will we need to apply for a governmental subsidy? Not only does HighRoad excel at people-moving performance, but at one-fifth of the cost of heavy rail and half the cost of light rail, it is among the most affordable systems today.
When comparing costs, it is difficult to make certain that the cost data include the same items. Many system manufacturers shy away from complete disclosure due to their high costs. Although ANY project of this scope will be costly, we believe you'll find our costs very low when compared to other transit systems of comparable capacity. We so strongly believe in our numbers that we're willing to present them for your review:
| HighRoad guideway cost per mile: | US $15.13 million |
| Administration & Maintenance facilities: | US $13.68 million |
| HighRoad stations - | |
Typical plan: |
US $3.29 million |
Expanded plan: |
US $5.91 million |
At-grade plan: |
US $1.53 million |
| HighRoad vehicle cost each: | US $1.60 million |
| Typical 25-mile system cost per mile: | US $22.3 million |
|
|
|
The costs shown include controls, security systems, emergency power supply, construction overhead & profit and patent licensing fees. The costs DO NOT include right-of-way costs nor utility relocation costs due to the wide fluctuation of these regional costs. Because the system is generally elevated, its right-of-way and utility costs will be lower than other 'at-grade' systems.
Design and costing is our business. We're confident in our costing because we've used predictible design techniques and technologies which are standard in the construction industry and because other professional engineers have reviewed and critiqued our efforts. AND, we're conservative in our estimates. We'd rather be faulted for estimating costs too high, than too low.