3.1 Consumer Surplus
Consumer surplus is the additional benefits consumers receive from the purchase of a service
above the price actually paid for that service. This measurement is used to assess the broad
economic impacts of a transportation investment. It exists because consumers are willing to pay
a higher price than that actually charged for the service. A transportation improvement is seen as
providing benefits in terms of time and costs savings, as well as convenience, comfort, and
reliability to users of the mode. In this context, the consumer surplus is the difference between
the amounts an individual would be willing to pay for high-speed rail service and the fare
required to use the system. For the purposes of this study, consumer surplus was derived by
applying a percentage to the system revenue estimate (94 percent based on the proportion found
in the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative Project Notebook).