Briefing on Comprehensive Value Analysis Framework for Transit Investments

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Briefing on Comprehensive Value Analysis
Framework for Transit Investments
National Capital Region Transportation Planning
Board
June 6, 2008
HDRDecision Economics
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Comprehensive value analysis

• Recognizes all benefits of transit
• Mobility
• Congestion Management
• Economic Development

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Mobility

• Time savings to transit users
• Cash savings to low income households for
  allocation to housing, nutrition, child care
• Cross-sector benefits reduced financial burden
  on social services

4
Congestion Management

• Reduced delay
• Improved reliability, predictability and
  productivity
• Reduced environmental emissions
• Lower vehicle operating costs
• Safety (lives, injuries, property)

5
Economic Development

• Location Efficiency
• High density economic activity (retail,
  commercial )
• Agglomeration economies
• Less demand for motorized trips
• Reduced auto-ownership requirements, dependence
• Higher density life-style
• Measurement
• Development benefits manifest and measured as
  increased economic land value
• Double Counting?
• Capitalization of time savings? Only partially

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CASE Light Rail (Austin, Texas)
Transit investment generates value in all three
categories
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CASE Transit v. Highway Investment (Cincinnati,
Ohio)
Transit investment can outperform highway
alternatives
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CASE Streetcar Investment(Cincinnati, Ohio)
Focus on ridership benefits alone can lead to the
mistaken conclusion that a project is not
economically worthwhile
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Considerations of Regional Transportation Planners
Highway Transportation Options
Transit Options
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Conclusions

• Comprehensive Value Analysis
• Is feasible and proven
• Enables quantitative understanding of
  significance of transit investment for economic
  well-being
• Facilitates understanding of development-based
  financing capacity of transit investment
• Allows comparative ROI ranking of alternative
  transit scenarios for the region
• Allows comparative ROI ranking of alternative
  transportation scenarios to find the best-value