01055799

Component

Assessing infrastructure projects regarding their original targets is a matter of great interest for both the public and the decision makers. Many international statistics deliver inaccurate trends in particular for costs and traffics. Since the adoption in 1982 of a law on transport, France has developed a comprehensive process to understand the infrastructure projects' economic and social results. It aims to evaluate the accuracy of ex-ante analysis methods, especially concerning economic growth, costs and traffic forecasts, and to improve French appraisal practices. In a context of a scarcity of public funds, this post evaluation is also essential to check that money has been used efficiently. In the French post evaluation process, the project's real effects must be compared to the forecast ones between three and five years after the project opening. In practice, lots of material and methodological difficulties appear and in 2000 the law was scarcely applied. Nevertheless, considerable interest kept on growing on ex-post reports and the French Transport Ministry decided to define a new methodology in order to revive the post evaluation process. The new approach has pros and cons, but a great emphasis has been placed on its simplicity and its efficiency. First, this paper will deliver international figures about forecasts accuracy. Second, it will detail the new French methodology recommended for post evaluation. Then a picture of the first results of this ex post evaluation will be drawn, and finally larger aims and ambitions following post evaluations will be discussed.

01042056

07-1480

English

17p

2007

Transportation Research Board 86th Annual Meeting

CD-ROM

Figures (6) ; References (9) ; Tables (5)

Benefit cost analysis; Cost overruns; Environmental protection; Evaluation; Infrastructure; Level of service; Methodology; Ridership; Socioeconomic factors; Traffic forecasting; Transportation policy

France

Administration and Management; Economics; Environment; Highways; Policy; Society; I10: Economics and Administration

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2007 Paper #07-1480

BTRIS, TRIS, TRB

Feb 8 2007 6:05PM