Criteria for local transport subsidies

Governments have rarely been content to leave the provision of public transport services entirely to the market. Competition has been regulated and increasingly services have been subsidized from public funds. However, the criteria for such subsidies have been a continuing source of debate. Economists have tended to emphasize efficiency criteria and advocated the use of cost‐benefit analysis, but, for a variety of reasons, in the U.K. at least, this approach does not seem to have played a major role in the allocation of subsidies. Others have advocated more needs‐based approaches. Whilst these have been tried, they also have their limitations. The first few sections of the paper, therefore, review the development of these approaches in the U.K. and consider their shortcomings from the point of view of deciding on transport subsidies. In the latter part of the paper it is suggested that developments in the appraisal of health care procedures, particularly in the use of cost‐utility techniques, indicate a possible alternative approach. The approach in the health context is outlined and it is demonstrated how it might be applied to the appraisal of local transport services.     

Economic appraisal of European transport projects: The state-of-the-art revisited

Substantial investment has been made at national and European level in transport infrastructure over the past 50 years and is likely to continue in the future. The need to appraise transport projects in economic and social terms has developed alongside this in both scope and complexity. The state-of-the-art in the economic appraisal of transport projects is reviewed, progress is assessed and future challenges are identified. The review addresses the general framework, treatment of major impacts, presentation of outputs and issues such as uncertainty. It draws on national practice in Western European countries, which varies substantially reflecting a range of cultural and economic differences. Some points of commonality exist and the principle of monetizing direct transport impacts is generally accepted. Progress has been made towards the measurement of environmental impacts, but the assessment of the wider impacts remains under-developed. Increased sophistication and complexity has brought increasing data and presentation requirements, where computerized decision support methods have potential. Many challenges exist for the future of appraisal and the review is concluded with a discussion of some key issues. At the heart of these is the continuing debate over the relative roles of national and European government in decision-making and resource allocation.     

Social Impacts of Transport: Literature Review and the State of the Practice of Transport Appraisal in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom

Abstract

Transport appraisals in European countries increasingly address three dimensions of sustainability—economic, ecological and social. However, social impacts of transport have been underexposed in (ex‐ante) transport project appraisal, at least in the Netherlands. Firstly, this article presents a theoretical framework describing the relationships between determinants of social impacts of transport; it also provides a definition and categorization of those impacts. Secondly, the article reviews the state of the practice of national transport project appraisal in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The article shows that social impacts of transport investments can take on many forms and their levels of importance may vary widely, in project appraisal. The UK transport appraisal guidance includes a spectrum of social impacts through quantitative and qualitative assessments that is broader than the Dutch appraisal guidance. However, it does not cover the full range as identified in the literature. This holds, in particular, for the temporary impacts of transport investments, health impacts, social cohesion, the distribution and accumulation of impacts across population groups and social justice. All in all, it can be concluded that there is a long way to go before social impacts of transport projects are completely included in appraisals, in a way that allows us to compare them to economic and ecological effects.     

Uncertainty in the context of highway appraisal

Transport planning is based on traffic forecasts which are subject to great uncertainties. These uncertainties have generally been ignored or, at least, not explicitly included in the planning process. This paper describes the principles behind the estimation of the uncertainty (or range of error) of the forecasts of a traffic model and discusses the means by which this information can be absorbed into the decision-making in transport planning projects. These principles have been applied to the appraisal of a British highway project and throughout the paper reference is made to this project in order to illustrate the results of the practical application of an explicit treatment of uncertainty. It is believed that this approach can and should be developed for application in most areas of transport planning, leading inevitably to an improvement in the quality of the decisions taken.     

The logsum as an evaluation measure: Review of the literature and new results

The logsum is a measure of consumer surplus in the context of logit choice models. In spite of the very frequent use of logit models in transport, project assessment is only rarely done using logsums. Instead in project evaluation or appraisal, changes in transport costs and time (borrowing values of time from some source) are commonly used to get the traveller benefits. The paper contains a review of the theoretical and applied literature on the use of logsums as a measure of consumer surplus change in project appraisal and evaluation. It then goes on to describe a case study with the Dutch National Model System for transport in which the logsum method and the commonly used value of time method are compared for a specific project (high speed trains that would connect the four main cities in the Randstad: Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht).     

Deployment of interurban ATT test scenarios (DIATS): Implications for the European road network

The paper summarizes the research results and implications from the DGVII-funded Fourth Framework research project Deployment of Interurban ATT Test Scenarios (DIATS). The objective of DIATS was to identify options available in the short and medium terms, for implementing advanced transport telematics (ATT) systems for motorway-type roads and to develop scenarios of 'highest potential impact' for each of the systems identified. Included are the results of a Delphi study into the most likely deployment scenarios for ATT technologies. The methodology developed to assess the organizational, social, environmental, efficiency, safety and legal concerns associated with new ATT systems is then described. This includes stated preference questionnaires, traffic simulation modelling, driver behaviour assessment using an instrumented vehicle, analysis of accident databases and literature reviews. A multicriteria analysis of the impacts of a range of ATT systems is then presented. In particular, the results discuss the potential impacts of new in-vehicle driver assistance devices such as adaptive cruise control on the operation and effectiveness of existing fixed-infrastructure systems. The paper concludes with a prioritized list of deployment strategies of maximum impact for all of the systems assessed. The research findings are already being applied nationally and a number of field trial assessments that will assist in this are also proposed.     

Introducing Willingness‐to‐pay for Noise Changes into Transport Appraisal: An Application of Benefit Transfer

Abstract

Numerous research studies have elicited willingness‐to‐pay values for transport‐related noise. However, in many industrialized countries including the UK, noise costs and benefits are still not incorporated into appraisals for most transport projects and policy changes. This paper describes the actions recently taken in the UK to address this issue, comprising: primary research based on the city of Birmingham; an international review of willingness‐to‐pay evidence; the development of values using benefit transfers over time and locations; and integration with appraisal methods. Amongst the main findings are: that the willingness‐to‐pay estimates derived for the UK are broadly comparable with those used in appraisal elsewhere in Europe; that there is a case for a lower threshold at 45 dB(A)Leq,18h rather than the more conventional 55 dB(A); and that values per dB(A) increase with the noise level above this threshold. There are significant issues over the valuation of rail versus road noise, the neglect of non‐residential noise and the valuation of high noise levels in different countries. Conclusions are drawn regarding the feasibility of noise valuation based on benefit transfers in the UK and elsewhere, and future research needs in this field are discussed.     

Incorporating equity as part of the wider impacts in transport infrastructure assessment: an application of the SUMINI approach

The state of the art in appraisal of transport infrastructure (particularly for developed countries) is moving towards inclusivity of a set of wider impacts than has traditionally been the case. In appraisal frameworks generally Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA), features as either an alternative to, or complementary with, Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) particularly when assessing a wider set of distributional and other impacts. In that respect it goes some way towards addressing an identified weakness in conventional CBA. This paper proposes a new method to incorporate the wider impacts into the appraisal framework (SUMINI) based upon a composite indicator and MCA. The method is illustrated for a particular example of the wider set of impacts, i.e. equity, through the ex-post assessment of two large EU transport infrastructure (TEN-T) case studies. The results suggest that SUMINI assesses equity impacts well and the case studies highlight the flexibility of the approach in reflecting different policy or project objectives. The research concludes that this method should not be viewed as being in competition with traditional CBA, but that it could be an easily adopted and complementary approach. The value in the research is in providing a new and significant methodological advance to the historically difficult question of how to evaluate equity and other wider impacts. The research is of strong international significance due to the publication of the TEN-Ts review by the European Commission, as well as the transnational nature of large scale interurban transport schemes, the involvement of national and transnational stakeholder groups in the approval and funding of those schemes, the large numbers of population potentially subject to equity and other wider impacts and the degree of variation in the regional objectives and priorities for transport decision makers.     

Monitoring urban spatial dynamics

As urban systems increase in size and diversity, the factors which influence spatial change increase in number and their interactions become more complex. Increasing emphasis is thus being placed by some governments and agencies on regular reviews of policies and programs, to ensure that they are consistent with and facilitate the evolving urban form. Consequently, the monitoring of urban transport and activity systems is of increasing importance, to aid the review processes. This paper considers the progress which has been made in and use of procedures for monitoring urban, transport-related spatial changes. The specification, estimation and presentation of appropriate indicators is briefly discussed. Experience with the use of spatial monitoring procedures on data for two Australian cities has revealed several possible implications for transport investment practice and the development of monitoring and modelling procedures. These are discussed and the paper then indicates the approach which is currently being taken at ARRB towards developing a monitoring system.     

Induced traffic and economic appraisal

Economic appraisal of major roads in the UK is based on a set of standard procedures and conventions. A central assumption has been that the volume and pattern of traffic in any given year is independent of the quality of service offered by the network — the fixed trip matrix assumption. Failing to consider induced traffic can have serious consequences for the accuracy and robustness of the measured traffic benefits from road improvements. Assessment of the wider economic benefits of roads, which is an important political imperative for road investment, is also made more difficult. Two conclusions are reached. Variable trip matrix methods need to be introduced for the appraisal of major road schemes, and scheme appraisal needs to be complemented by a more strategic area-wide approach to evaluation. In responding to its advisory committee (SACTRA), the UK Department of Transport has accepted the first of these conclusions and is cautiously favourable to the second.     

Market Orientation in Public Transport Research—A Review

It is commonly argued that, in order to meet increasing competition, public transport organizations and systems need to be market oriented. Even though the notion of market orientationhas not been explicitly addressed in public transport research, studies relevant to market orientation have been conducted. The aim of this paper is to introduce the concept of market orientation into the field of public transport, to review previous research into market orientation in public transport research, and to suggest directions for future research. Market orientation is defined as the generation and dissemination of market intelligence by organizations, as well as responses to it. The review suggests that previous academic research has focused on intelligence generation by developing and using models for measuring travel behaviour, stated preferences, perceived customer quality, and satisfaction. Studies of responsiveness have mainly addressed the physical improvements made in public transport organizations, which is also the primary concern of the industry research accounted for. There has been less research into the dissemination of market intelligence, the drivers of market orientation, the relations between the elements, and the overall concept of market orientation in public transport. It is thus concluded that future public transport research needs to address these issues.     

Planning,operation, and control of bus transport systems: A literature review

The efficiency of a transport system depends on several elements, such as available technology, governmental policies, the planning process, and control strategies. Indeed, the interaction between these elements is quite complex, leading to intractable decision making problems. The planning process and real-time control strategies have been widely studied in recent years, and there are several practical implementations with promising results. In this paper, we review the literature on Transit Network Planning problems and real-time control strategies suitable to bus transport systems. Our goal is to present a comprehensive review, emphasizing recent studies as well as works not addressed in previous reviews.     

Appraisal of rail investment projects: recent British experience

There has long been conflict over the degree to which railways should follow commercial or social investment criteria. This paper outlines the components of a comprehensive social cost‐benefit analysis of railway investment, and then describes the current approach in Britain. British Rail investment proposals are subject to a purely financial appraisal, although in the subsidized sectors of the railway this is subject to the proviso that a ‘broadly comparable’ level of service should be maintained. Local authorities and private operators are able to apply for a central government grant towards the cost of schemes they sponsor. But grant is only payable in respect of external benefits—that is, benefits other than to public transport users. Sponsors are also expected to seek contributions from private developers wherever possible. The difficulties to which this approach leads are discussed, and illustrated with two case studies of actual schemes. In one, it appears that failing to consider disbenefits to bus operators (and in turn to users of bus services) could lead to investments being undertaken which are not justified. In the other, a scheme which yields a high Net Present Value could not go ahead, in the form that we evaluated, because there is no way of recouping enough of the user benefits as revenue. Both are examples of the sort of distorting effect on decision‐making the current regime may have.     

Non‐physical barriers to traffic flow and the PTA programme of action: problems and prospects

A lot of resources have .been committed to the provision of transport infrastructure in Eastern and Southern Africa. Some of these resources have been borrowed from outside and have to be repaid. Hence the need to maximize their use. However, this is being minimized by non‐infrastructural bottlenecks to traffic flow. These range from macro‐economic constraints with implications for passenger (bus) transport such as the non‐availability or acute shortage of foreign exchange to slow, cumbersome documentation procedures particularly for cross‐border traffic.

The Preferential Trade Area (PTA) for Eastern and Southern Africa is geared to the reduction and eventual elimination of actual and potential non‐physical barriers to traffic flow, for which it has instituted a number of schemes. After introductory remarks on the sub‐regional economy, its transport sector and avenues for sub‐regional cooperation and the implementation of these schemes is assessed and other non‐physical barriers yet to be addressed by the PTA are examined before conclusions are drawn.     

Review of GPS Travel Survey and GPS Data-Processing Methods

Abstract

Global positioning system (GPS) devices have been utilised in travel surveys since the late 1990s. Because GPS devices are very accurate at recording time and positional characteristics of travel, they can correct the trip-misreporting issue resulting from self-reports of travel and improve the accuracy of travel data. Although the initial idea of using GPS surveys in transport data collection was just to replace paper-based travel diaries, GPS surveys currently are being applied in a number of transport fields. Several general reviews have been done about GPS surveys in the literature review sections in some papers, but a detailed systematic review from GPS data collection to the whole procedure of GPS data processing has not been undertaken. This paper comprehensively reviews the development of GPS surveys and their applications, and GPS data processing. Different from most reviews in GPS research, this paper provides a detailed and systematic comparison between different methods from trip identification to mode and purpose detection, introduces the methods that researchers and planners are currently using, and discusses the pros and cons of those methods. Based on this review, researchers can choose appropriate methods and endeavour to improve them.     

Sustainability Assessment of Transport Infrastructure Projects: A Review of Existing Tools and Methods

Abstract

Attempts to integrate sustainability in the decision-making process for transport infrastructure projects continue to gain momentum. A number of tools and methodological frameworks are available — such as rating systems, traditional decision-making techniques, checklists, and different evaluation frameworks and models. While these tools are highly valuable, some practical issues remain unsolved. There is also a need for more standardized tools to appraise the sustainability of transport projects. This paper is a presentation of a review on the current assessment tools of sustainability applied to transport infrastructure projects. The preliminary part of the paper is an explanatory and comparative analysis of the tools and methods in terms of their effectiveness to appraise sustainability. The analysis is a critical evaluation of the current state of the art to identify the limitations of existing approaches, point out new areas of research, and propose a sustainability appraisal agenda for the future.     

Commuting and wellbeing: a critical overview of the literature with implications for policy and future research

ABSTRACT

This review provides a critical overview of what has been learnt about commuting’s impact on subjective wellbeing (SWB). It is structured around a conceptual model which assumes commuting can affect SWB over three time horizons: (i) during the journey; (ii) immediately after the journey; and (iii) over the longer term. Our assessment of the evidence shows that mood is lower during the commute than other daily activities and stress can be induced by congestion, crowding and unpredictability. People who walk or cycle to work are generally more satisfied with their commute than those who travel by car and especially those who use public transport. Satisfaction decreases with duration of commute, regardless of mode used, and increases when travelling with company. After the journey, evidence shows that the commute experience “spills over” into how people feel and perform at work and home. However, a consistent link between commuting and life satisfaction overall has not been established. The evidence suggests that commuters are generally successful in trading off the drawbacks of longer and more arduous commute journeys against the benefits they bring in relation to overall life satisfaction, but further research is required to understand the decision making involved. The evidence review points to six areas that warrant policy action and research: (i) enhancing the commute experience; (ii) increasing commute satisfaction; (iii) reducing the impacts of long duration commutes; (iv) meeting commuter preferences; (v) recognising flexibility and constraints in commuting routines and (vi) accounting for SWB impacts of commuting in policy making and appraisal.     

The digital revolution and worthwhile use of travel time: implications for appraisal and forecasting

Savings in travel time and more specifically their monetary value typically constitute the main benefit to justify major investment in transport schemes. However, worthwhile use of travel time is an increasingly prominent phenomenon of the digital age. Accordingly, questions are increasingly being asked regarding whether values of time used by countries around the world based on their appraisal approaches are too high. This paper offers the most comprehensive examination of our theoretical and empirical understandings of international appraisal approaches and how they account for worthwhile use of travel time. It combines the economics perspective with wider social science insight and reaches the conclusion that past revolutions in transport that have made longer and quicker journeys possible are now joined by a digital revolution that is reducing the disutility of travel time. This revolution offers potential economic benefit that comes at a fraction of the cost of major investments in transport that are predicated on saving travel time. The paper highlights the challenges faced in both current and indeed potential alternative future appraisal approaches. Such challenges are rooted in the difficulty of measuring time use and productivity with sufficient accuracy and over time to credibly account for how travel time factors into the economic outcomes from social and working practices in the knowledge economy. There is a need for further research to: establish how improvements in the opportunities for and the quality of worthwhile use of travel time impact on the valuation of travel time savings for non-business travel; improve our understanding of how productive use of time impacts on the valuation of time savings for business travellers; and estimate how these factors have impacted on the demand for different modes of travel.     

Valuing Freight Transport Time using Transport Demand Modelling: A Bibliographical Review

The value of time for freight transport is of major importance in infrastructure-related cost–benefit analysis and yet its study has been largely neglected when compared with its passenger counterpart. In fact, one of the attributes that could decide the profitability of a project is how much can be saved if freight vehicles use new infrastructure. Despite being the primary benefit of most investments in transport infrastructure, researchers have not yet reached agreement over either the size or the nature of the values of time that should be used when evaluating projects. This article provides a review of the estimation of freight value of time through transport demand modelling and extant empirical evidence on this topic. Similarly, the bibliographic review of studies undertaken has allowed us to pinpoint the most critical issues when modelling freight transport demand and the position of various research teams regarding these aspects. Such issues include identifying the decision-maker, heterogeneity in the transport flows and transport attributes considered by decision-makers.