Transport Notes

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The goal of Transport Notes series is dissemination of recent experiences and innovations in the World Bank Group’s transport sector operations.

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Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Publication
    Notes on the Economic Evaluation of Transport Projects : Fiscal Impacts
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-01) Mackie, Peter; Nellthorp, John; Laird, James
    The Economic Evaluation Notes are arranged in three groups. The first group (TRN-6 to TRN-10) provides criteria for selection a particular evaluation technique or approach; the second (TRN-11 to TRN-17) addresses the selection of values of various inputs to the evaluation, and the third (TRN-18 to TRN-26) deals with specific problematic issues in economic evaluation. The Notes are preceded by a Framework (TRN-5), that provides the context within which we use economic evaluation in the transport sector. Transport projects have an impact not only on citizens and businesses, but on governments - central, regional and local. Financing and managing the project will place demands on the government's capital and current accounts. Whether these demands are greater or smaller, and how they are phased over time, will depend on the financing mechanisms used and the extent to which the public sector is involved. Alternative approaches for private finance and management are described in the World Bank's 'Public-Private Options' toolkit. In this note, we consider how the appraisal should take the financial effects into account, and how they fit within the appraisal results, as described in the Framework.
  • Publication
    Treatment of Maintenance
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-01) Mackie, Peter; Nellthorp , John; Laird, James
    Maintenance is an often overlooked aspect of appraisal. The effective treatment of maintenance within an appraisal is, however, fundamental to informing the decision regarding the optimum investment strategy. This is because the nature of the maintenance strategy can have direct implications on operating costs and other benefits (e.g. travel time savings). As such the impact of maintenance within an appraisal extends far beyond a simple consideration of its financial cost. The first Section of this Note introduces the importance the correct treatment of maintenance has with respect to an economic appraisal. Following Sections present the primary components of maintenance costs, and introduce the notion of whole life costing and the fact that there is a risk that maintenance may not occur. Next, the Note discusses the issues associated with deriving future maintenance costs, and further discuss the need for inclusion within the appraisal of, first, delays to transport users during maintenance works, and second, of the amount of induced and re-assigned traffic. The final Section presents a summary of the key points that should be borne in mind with respect to the treatment of maintenance within an economic appraisal.
  • Publication
    Low Volume Rural Roads
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-01) Mackie, Peter; Nellthorp, John; Laird, James
    The objective of this note is to advise on an appropriate economic appraisal methodology that should be used for the assessment of Low Volume Rural Roads - that is roads upon which less than 200 motorized vehicles per day travel. Section 1 of this note sets out the reasons that Low Volume Rural Roads require a slightly different consideration from other transport projects. Section 2 discusses the approaches to economic evaluation that can be used for low volume rural roads, whilst Section 3 presents the manner that the consumer surplus method can be extended to account for the characteristics of low volume rural roads. Section 4 contains a summary of the main points of the note.
  • Publication
    Treatment of Pedestrian and Non-Motorised Traffic
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-01) Mackie, Peter; Nellthorp, John; Laird, James
    Pedestrians and Non-Motorized Traffic vehicles (NMTs) are part of the complete transport scene and in some cases form a very important aspect of that scene. As with the motorized sector of the transport market, this sector will experience positive and negative impacts as a consequence of a transport investment and the sector therefore needs to be included within the appraisal of that investment. Wheeled NMTs (e.g. bicycles and rickshaws) can experience benefits as smoother roads reduce operating costs and journey times, whether that be in an urban or rural environment. New roads and smoother roads can also lead to mode switching from pedestrian modes to either wheeled NMTs or motorized vehicles, giving both journey time and operating cost savings. An increase in the speed of traffic on an upgraded road may result in an increase in the seriousness of road accidents (i.e. an increase in the average number of fatalities per accident), with pedestrians and NMTs being the vulnerable road user groups. In some situations increases in capacity of urban intersections or urban arterials (e.g. construction of an urban motorway or freeway) may reduce the amount of road space available for NMTs thereby imposing costs (both travel time and operating costs) on that road user group. As with motorized transport, pedestrians and NMTs may benefit from a transport investment through operating cost savings, travel time savings, and accident and safety impacts. The inclusion of benefits to pedestrians and NMTs can form a significant proportion of the total scheme benefits for investments such as low volume rural roads.
  • Publication
    Where to Use Cost Effectiveness Techniques Rather Than Cost Benefit Analysis
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-01) Mackie, Peter; Nellthorp, John; Laird, James
    Cost Benefit Analysis, and the measures of economic performance that can be derived from it (see Note 6: When and How to Use NPV, IRR and Adjusted IRR), is the preferred method for demonstrating the economic justification of transport investments. Such an approach, however, relies on the ability to be able to measure costs and benefits in monetary terms (see Note 5: Framework), which renders it problematic for projects where the majority of benefits cannot be readily monetised. Such a project could be a Low Volume Rural Road (see Note 21: Low Volume Rural Roads). In such situations consideration should be given to the use of measures derived from cost effectiveness or weighted cost effectiveness (also known as Multi Criteria Analysis) techniques as the basis for the decision regarding whether to invest or not. Cost effectiveness techniques are also a very useful tool for project screening or ranking. Such a screening process ensures that projects that are subjected to a more detailed analysis (including cost benefit analysis) are those that best fit with the objectives of the investment (e.g. poverty alleviation). Section 1 of this note outlines the situations in which cost effectiveness techniques should be used, whilst Section 2 describes the two main types of approaches. Section 3 discusses the issue of economic viability and cost effectiveness whilst Section 4 presents a summary of recommendations.
  • Publication
    Treatment of Induced Traffic
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-01) Mackie, Peter; Nellthorp, John; Laird, James
    Induced traffic can be an important part of the economic appraisal particularly when the objective of the investment is to stimulate economic development; it's importance, however, is not restricted to such situations. The omission of induced traffic from the economic appraisal, or its incorrect treatment, may lead to either over or underestimations in the user benefits (consumer surplus) of an investment. In addressing this issues, this note, considers: the importance of induced traffic for the economic appraisal (Section 1); what constitutes induced traffic (Section 2); the situations in which induced traffic is likely to be relevant (Section 3) and the manner in which it can be modeled (Section 4) and user benefits calculated when it is present (Section 5). The annexes show the relative importance of including the benefits of induced traffic in the evaluation of an urban transport project; where the standard "rule of one half" breaks down in some situations that are often present in Bank projects, while another shows a numeric integration technique that can be used as a valid alternative to the rule of one half in many of these situations (and coincidently, provides a more precise evaluation even where the "rule of one half" gives an acceptable estimation).
  • Publication
    Sources of Operating Costs
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-01) Mackie, Peter; Nellthorp, John; Laird, James
    Historically, road vehicle operating costs have tended to dominate highway economic appraisals in developing countries, due to the poor road surfaces that can occur there. The operating costs of railways and ports are also substantial, and form key components of cost benefit analyses of their associated infrastructure. The definition of operating costs for Bank projects is therefore important in obtaining a reliable economic appraisal. In this Note, Section 1 introduces the key issues associated with operating costs, whilst the following sections discuss the components and sources of operating costs by mode. Road vehicle operating costs are presented in Section 2, railway operating costs in Section 3, and port operating costs in Section 4.