Web-Based Guide to Transportation Benefit-Cost Analysis
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 134, Issue 7
Abstract
Originally begun as an ASCE committee activity, this comprehensive on-line guide to benefit-cost analysis (BCA) was completed under the sponsorship of the Office of Transportation Economics of the California Department of Transportation. The Web site helps users, step by step, through the process of determining if BCA is an appropriate approach to an investment decision for a particular transportation project and then, if so, of properly conducting the analysis. Although not intended as an instructional aid per se, the site provides elementary guidance on setting up and conducting a BCA, explaining concepts and the basics of appropriate methodologies. It also lets users drill down to detailed technical descriptions of methodologies, analysis tools, and illustrative case studies. The site was developed in order to encourage increased use and proper application of BCA in transportation investment decisions for which this approach is appropriate. Check out: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tpp/offices/ote/Benefit_Cost/.
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Acknowledgments
Funding to develop and host the Web site has been provided by the California Department of Transportation, Office of Transportation Economics, Division of Transportation Planning. Site development was completed through a contract with the California Center for Innovative Transportation, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California at Berkeley, assisted by subcontracts to the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and the Economic Development Research Group, Boston. The original concept and design of the Web site were created by the Committee on Urban Transportation Economics and Policy (now the Committee on Planning and Economics, Transportation and Development Institute) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Besides the writers, key ASCE committee contributors include Jan Botha, Patrick DeCorla-Souza, Jonathan Gifford, James Hunt, C. Jotin Khisty, and David Reinke. Contributors to the project at U.C. Berkeley include Ashkan Sharafsaleh (Project Manager), Hamed Benouar, Melanie Curry, Robert Hannay, Andy Katz, Matthew Malchow, Phyllis Orrick, Roni Terkel, and Jeff Williams. Contributing to Caltrans administration, oversight, and review were Sabrina Brown, Mahmoud Mahdavi, and Brian Weatherford.
References
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). (2003). User benefit analysis for highways, Washington, D.C.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 134 • Issue 7 • July 2008
Pages: 282 - 286
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 19, 2006
Accepted: Nov 8, 2007
Published online: Jul 1, 2008
Published in print: Jul 2008
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