Assessment of Options to Reshape the Alaska Marine Highway System

Overview

Project Lead: Marcus Hartley, Mike Fisher

Northern Economics created a data-driven model to estimate impacts of 11 options to reshape the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) ferry system in this high-profile report for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The goal of the project was to assess options that would reduce the operating subsidy of the system while maintaining acceptable levels of service. The analysis included econometric modeling of travel demand in response to changes in prices and to changes in the frequency of port calls. The analysis considered changes in the ownership structure and examined the impacts of changes in daily operating hours as well as the impacts of lower wages. The report was published by Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities in January 2020. View the full report here:

ReshapingAMHS_01.10.20

Appendix A AMHS volume and Revenue by Route Group_01.10.20 

Appendix B Community Profiles_01.10.20 

Appendix C AMHS Regression Models_01.10.20