How Much Do Users Value a Network Expansion? Evidence from the Public Transit System in Singapore

We estimate the network effects of a public transit system by examining the impact of its expansion on housing prices. Our results show that a major expansion of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system increased the price of apartments within 0.5 km of a pre-expansion station by 1.8% relative to apartments that were further away from a station. Evaluated at the mean housing price, the expansion increased the value of pre-connected apartments by at least S$455 million in aggregate, which is equivalent to 9% of the estimated S$5 billion cost of the expansion