Question

The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) System in Hong Kong has been running significant losses. Transport Ministry officials have argued over whether to raise fares to combat the losses. One argument against a fare increase is that it will aggravate traffic congestion on the streets during peak commuter hours. Suppose that the current fare is $4 and the government is considering raising it to S6. Officials estimate that this reduces the number of rides purchased from 10,000 to 8,000 per day

a) What is the estimated elasticity of demand for MRT rides using the midpoint/ARC method?
b) What does this elasticity of demand suggest to you about what will happen to total revenue earned by the transit system? Explain and show your work.

Answer 1

A) -0.55

B) The negativity in the estimated elasticity suggests that for every 1% increase in the price of transport there will be a corresponding 0.55% decrease in the number of Commuters

Step-by-step explanation:

Given data:

current fare (P0) = $4

hiked fare (P1) = $6

change in fare = $2

number of rides before increase ( Q0 ) = 10000

number of rides after increase ( Q1 ) = 8000

change in rides = 2000

A) The estimated elasticity of demand for MRT rides using the midpoint /ARC method

Mid point method = [ ( Q1 - Q0 ) / ( Q1 + Q0 ) ] / [ (P1 - P0 ) / (P1 + P0 ) ]

= [ - 2000 / 18000 ] / [ 2 / 10 ]

= - 1000 / 1800 = - 5 / 9 ( estimated elasticity )

= - 0.55

B) The negativity in the estimated elasticity suggests that for every 1% increase in the price of transport there will be a corresponding 0.55% decrease in Commuters