00201929

Component

http://onlinepubs.trb.org...s/hrr/1970/314/314-003.pdf

AN EXTENSIVE TWO-PHASE STUDY OF HIGHWAY USER BENEFITS RESULTING FROM THE OPERATION OF THE SEATTLE FREEWAY IS ANALYZED FOR THE PURPOSE OF SIMPLIFYING THE DATA REQUIREMENTS AND THE METHODS OF CALCULATION. RESULTS OF THE DETAILED STUDY OF BENEFITS INDICATE THAT TRAVEL TIME SAVINGS AND ACCIDENT REDUCTION BENEFITS ARE THE PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS OF URBAN HIGHWAY USER BENEFITS. THE BASIC FORM OF THE TRAVEL TIME SAVINGS CALCULATION IS ANALYZED. USE IS MADE OF THE MINIMUM TRAVEL TIME RATIO (MTTR) TO EVALUATE TRAVEL TIME SAVINGS. IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE MTTR AND HIGHWAY AND TRAFFIC CHARACTERISTICS WILL FACILITATE ITS ESTIMATION. CALCULATIONS USING THESE RATIOS IN CONJUNCTION WITH COARSE TOME-OF-DAY SUBGROUPINGS AND A TRUCK FACTOR, TO ACCOUNT FOR THE DISPROPORTIONATE TRAVEL TIME BENEFITS ENJOYED BY COMMERCIAL VEHICLES, PRODUCE BENEFITS IN SUBSTANTIAL AGREEMENT WITH THE RESULTS OF MULTIVEHICLE ANALYSIS. AN ANALOGOUS METHOD OF ACCIDENT REDUCTION BENEFIT CALCULATION IS PROPOSED. A RELIABLE METHOD OF FREEWAY AND ARTERIAL ACCIDENT COST ESTIMATION IS USED. A SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE OF BENEFIT CALCULATION IS PRESENTED AND TESTED AGAINST THE RESULTS OF PREVIOUS ANALYSIS. AGREEMENT WITHIN 2 PERCENT IS ACHIEVED. THE SENSITIVITY OF THE CALCULATED TRAVEL TIME AND ACCIDENT REDUCTION BENEFIT TO ERRORS IN THE COMPONENT FACTORS IS EXAMPLES. WITH ONE EXCEPTION, THE RESULTS ARE NOT OVERLY DEPENDENT ON INDIVIDUAL ESTIMATES. THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT A SIMPLIFIED METHOD CAN BE USED TO ESTIMATE FREEWAY BENEFITS IN URBAN AREAS. A MINIMIZATION OF THE DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR ANALYSIS PURPOSES SHOULD FACILITATE FUTURE BENEFIT CALCULATION. SUPPLEMENTARY RESEARCH OF A LIMITED NATURE MAY BE NECESSARY IN THE EXTENSION OF THESE METHODS. /AUTHOR/

Paper sponsored by Committee on Highway Engineering Economy and presented at the 49th Annual Meeting. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

01410253

pp 32-40

1970

Highway Research Record

Print

References (13) ; Tables (1)

Benefit cost analysis; Economic analysis; Freeways; Prevention; Road construction; Safety; Travel time; User benefits

Economics; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Society

TRIS, TRB

Nov 9 1970 12:00AM

• A GENERAL-PURPOSE MODEL FOR MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATING COSTS
• A MODEL FOR HIGHWAY NEEDS EVALUATION
• A PROPOSED METHOD OF REGULATING VEHICLE WEIGHTS IN ONTARIO
• AN APPROACH TO THE ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENTS
• AN INVESTMENT APPROACH TOWARD DEVELOPING PRIORITIES IN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
• CONGESTION TOLL PRICING FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT FACILITIES
• DODOTRANS I: A DECISION-ORIENTED COMPUTER LANGUAGE FOR ANALYSIS OF MULTIMODE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
• EVALUATION OF A BUS TRANSIT SYSTEM IN A SELECTED URBAN AREA
• PROBLEMS, MISCONCEPTIONS, AND ERRORS IN BENEFIT-COST ANALYSES OF TRANSIT SYSTEMS
• THE VALUE OF TIME FOR COMMUTING MOTORISTS AS A FUNCTION OF THEIR INCOME LEVEL AND AMOUNT OF TIME SAVED
• VEHICLE CHARACTERISTICS OF FUEL AND TRAVEL TIME ON URBAN ARTERIALS AND FREEWAYS