Interrelation Of Transportation System And Project Decisions

This pioneering text provides a holistic approach to decisionmaking in transportation project development and programming, whichcan help transportation professionals to optimize their investmentchoices. The authors present a proven set of methodologies forevaluating transportation projects that ensures that all costs andimpacts are taken into consideration. The text's logical organization gets readers started with asolid foundation in basic principles and then progressively buildson that foundation. Topics covered include: Developing performance measures for evaluation, estimatingtravel demand, and costing transportation projects Performing an economic efficiency evaluation that accounts forsuch factors as travel time, safety, and vehicle operatingcosts Evaluating a project's impact on economic development and landuse as well as its impact on society and culture Assessing a project's environmental impact, including airquality, noise, ecology, water resources, and aesthetics Evaluating alternative projects on the basis of multipleperformance criteria Programming transportation investments so that resources can beoptimally allocated to meet facility-specific and system-widegoals Each chapter begins with basic definitions and concepts followedby a methodology for impact assessment. Relevant legislation isdiscussed and available software for performing evaluations ispresented. At the end of each chapter, readers are providedresources for detailed investigation of particular topics. Theseinclude Internet sites and publications of international anddomestic agencies and research institutions. The authors alsoprovide a companion Web site that offers updates, data foranalysis, and case histories of project evaluation and decisionmaking. Given that billions of dollars are spent each year ontransportation systems in the United States alone, and that thereis a need for thorough and rational evaluation and decision makingfor cost-effective system preservation and improvement, this textshould be on the desks of all transportation planners, engineers,and educators. With exercises in every chapter, this text is anideal coursebook for the subject of transportation systems analysisand evaluation.

In 1983 the Economic Development Institute (EDI) made three important decisions concerning its transport activities. First, it planned to shift the emphasis in these activities from teaching project analysis to helping countries strengthen their capability for policy analysis, formulation, and implementation. Second, the EDI decided to incorporate policy analysis into its transport activities as much as possible. And, third, it would try to develop this new strategy by using microcomputers to simulate policy options and explore their complex interrelationships, as well as the relationship between each policy and its stated goals. Because these objectives encompassed national and local policy along with a wide range of policy alternatives, a comprehensive transport model seemed appropriate. The purpose of this document is to demonstrate how such a model can be used to evaluate policies, to compare it with other kinds of models, and to examine the use of models in the wider context of policy objectives and instruments. It considers the relationship between policy objectives and instruments; places transport models in the context of policymaking; and demonstrates the use of a comprehensive model for testing policy strategies. This manual is intended for the policymaker who has little modeling expertise; it is designed to make the policymaker aware of the possible use of models in decisionmaking.

An integrated approach is presented for systematically incorporating social, economic, and environmental factors into transportation planning and decision making. The timely identification is stressed of the nature, magnitude, and incidence of these potential factors so that in all phases of transportation planning, alternatives may be developed that avoid or minimize adverse effects and that take full advantage of opportunities to increase benefits. The early, effective, knowledgeable involvement of the public to clarify issues and to aid in the development and evaluation of proposals in emphasized, and the effective use is stressed of expertise and resources both of the transportation agency and of other agencies with maximum flexibility and openess. Objectives for all phases of a transportation planning and design process are listed, a 4-phase study strategy is proposed, and the roles of the transportation professional are reviewed.

This timely book puts transport cost benefit analysis in a wider, institutional perspective, relating it in particular to decision making. The book will be of interest to practitioners, consultants and academics who are active in the evaluation of transport projects. Erik T. Verhoef, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands This is an important piece of work on project evaluation. An attractive feature is the balanced treatment of theory and application. The book provides very useful information on efforts of national governments in various countries to increase the quality of project evaluation studies by formulating guidelines for project evaluation. One of the strong points of the book is that it does not only address technical aspects of project evaluation tools, but also the institutional structures within which decisions are taken. Piet Rietveld, Vrije Universiteit and Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands This book revisits traditional evaluation methods, such as cost benefit analysis, to try and find a balance between the ever-increasing demand for transport, the search for sustainable mobility and green transport solutions, and the limited financial resources that governments are able to invest in transport infrastructure projects. In this respect, the effects of transport policy need to be measured and evaluated based on multiple criteria and the need to take into consideration a larger group of stakeholders and investors in transport projects. The book illustrates, methodologically and empirically, why and how the institutional and multi-actor environment impacts upon the analysis, evaluation and decision-making of transport projects in Europe. Including contributions from scholars with considerable expertise in the field, this book will be of great interest to consultants, policymakers and researchers.

The many aspects of urban transportation planning and design demand a multi faceted approach to ensure responsive, economical, and environmentally sensi tive facilities that enhance mobility. Yet all too easily the complexity of the process can obscure the major elements. This book aims at assisting the analyst to provide decision makers with a range of solutions by illustrating how service policies regarding quality of service, fares, investment levels, and environmental impacts affect and are affected by each other. This book, therefore, concentrates on the process of planning and design. It addresses the major elements of urban transportation planning, design, and impact estimation, and offers practice in undertaking typical projects. It focuses on the linkages and interaction with public policy regarding user service levels, and the resulting design and impacts. The process is illustrated by (1) outlining the individual transportation analysis and design techniques and their linkages, (2) describing the planning and design process, from population changes affect ing demand and mobility needs to estimation of air pollution and energy use impacts that are instrumental in shaping public policy and strategic planning, (3) presenting examples of transportation design projects showing how service policy may affect the physical and operational design of multimodal, urban trans portation systems, (4) enabling the readers to obtain practice in basic, applied transportation analysis, design, and impact estimation by defining the key service policy variables of projects for solution, and (5) familiarizing the reader with

Mobility is fundamental to economic and social activities such as commuting, manufacturing, or supplying energy. Each movement has an origin, a potential set of intermediate locations, a destination, and a nature which is linked with geographical attributes. Transport systems composed of infrastructures, modes and terminals are so embedded in the socio-economic life of individuals, institutions and corporations that they are often invisible to the consumer. This is paradoxical as the perceived invisibility of transportation is derived from its efficiency. Understanding how mobility is linked with geography is main the purpose of this book. The third edition of The Geography of Transport Systems has been revised and updated to provide an overview of the spatial aspects of transportation. This text provides greater discussion of security, energy, green logistics, as well as new and updated case studies, a revised content structure, and new figures. Each chapter covers a specific conceptual dimension including networks, modes, terminals, freight transportation, urban transportation and environmental impacts. A final chapter contains core methodologies linked with transport geography such as accessibility, spatial interactions, graph theory and Geographic Information Systems for transportation (GIS-T). This book provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the field, with a broad overview of its concepts, methods, and areas of application. The accompanying website for this text contains a useful additional material, including digital maps, PowerPoint slides, databases, and links to further reading and websites. The website can be accessed at: http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans This text is an essential resource for undergraduates studying transport geography, as well as those interest in economic and urban geography, transport planning and engineering.