Olympic Public Transportation Investments, Legacy, and City Prosperity: An Empirical Look at the 2000-2016 Summer Games

The complexity of hosting the Olympic Games has grown throughout its history. The financial risks to cities vying for the hosting rights are often viewed as excessive and consequently, fewer bids are being submitted in modern times. Critics suggest that public funds would be better spent supporting other social programs. However, history has demonstrated that host cities can use the Games to expand and modernize public transport systems to efficiently move people, increase accessibility, reduce personal travel and garner environmental benefits like improved air quality and less noise pollution. The authors examined the five Summer Olympic Games host cities between 2000-2016 using the City Prosperity Index (CPI) to measure city performance across six indexes to determine the accrued public transit benefits of hosting the Games. The authors hope this paper can provide a clear path forward for future Olympic bidders and city officials. Keywords: Olympic Games, City Prosperity Index, public transportation, investments