How to Use the Transport Fever 3 Calculator
Both tools, step by step, with worked examples you can check by hand.
The line cost estimator
- Pick a vehicle. Choose the vehicle you plan to run from the list. Only self-propelled vehicles that carry passengers or cargo are listed; locomotives and wagons are excluded because wagon consists vary.
- Enter the line length. Enter the one-way distance between the two end stations in kilometres.
- Set the service frequency. Enter how many minutes should pass between departures. Shorter intervals need more vehicles.
- Enter your average price (optional). Enter the average revenue you expect per passenger or per ton. Cargo payment rates are not public, so this is always your own figure.
- Read the results. The estimator shows the round-trip time, vehicles needed, capacity per hour, annual running cost, and the break-even revenue per passenger or ton, with every assumption stated.
Worked example: a city bus line
You want to run the Mercedes-Benz O303 bus (90 km/h top speed, 60 seats, $512,508 to buy, $85,418 per year to run) on a 10 km route with a departure every 15 minutes, and you expect an average fare of $50 per passenger.
- Average operating speed: 60% of 90 km/h = 54 km/h.
- Round-trip time: 2 × (10 ÷ 54) × 60 + 20 = 42.2 minutes.
- Vehicles needed: 42.2 ÷ 15 = 2.81, rounded up = 3 buses.
- Line capacity: 60 seats × 60 ÷ 15 = 240 passengers per hour.
- Annual running cost: 3 × $85,418 = $256,254 per year.
- Break-even at full load: $256,254 ÷ (240 × 6,570) = $0.16 per passenger.
- At your $50 fare: the line breaks even at 5,125 passengers per year — a load factor of about 0.33% of the 1,576,800 seats per year it offers.
Every assumption is listed under the results on the calculator itself, so you can judge whether they fit your network before trusting the numbers.
The comparison table
The table on the calculator home page lists every vehicle with the two derived metrics that matter most:
- Cost per seat/ton — purchase price ÷ capacity. Lower means cheaper capacity to buy.
- Running per seat/ton — annual running cost ÷ capacity. Lower means cheaper capacity to operate.
Click a class tab to narrow the list, and click any column header to sort. Sorting and filtering work in your browser instantly when JavaScript is on; the header links also work without it. The Estimate button on any row pre-fills the estimator with that vehicle.
Worked example: comparing two buses
The Stagecoach costs $96,882 and carries 24 passengers — $4,037 per seat to buy and $672 per seat per year to run. The Mercedes-Benz O303 costs $512,508 but carries 60 — $8,542 per seat to buy and $1,424 per seat per year. The Stagecoach is the cheaper capacity in this era, but it crawls at 20 km/h against the O303's 90 km/h, so you would need far more Stagecoaches to hold the same frequency on a long route — exactly what the estimator quantifies.
The full reference table
The vehicles page lists all 285 vehicles with every published stat: engine type, power, tractive effort, loading speed, comfort, weight, and length alongside the economy figures. It shares the same class tabs and sorting as the comparison table.