Economic impacts of major US public transport investments

The Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC) at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and transport consultancy, Steer Davies Gleave, have been awarded a contract from the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) to develop an improved methodology for evaluating the economic impacts of proposed public transport projects.

The new methodology constitutes a significant advance in the identification of economic impacts, bringing together some of the best minds in transport investment appraisal and economic impact analysis from both the UK and the USA. TCRP is administered by the Transportation Research Board at The U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

VTC Research Director Dr. Dan Chatman said, “We have put together a team with formidable expertise across several disciplines, involving experts at four universities including Professor Kaan Ozbay at Rutgers, Dr. Daniel Graham and Professor Stephen Glaister of Imperial College London, and Professor Joseph Berechman at the City College of New York.”

Steer Davies Gleave Project Manager Lars Rognlien said, “This is a very exciting project; we will be creating a practical appraisal tool for those involved in transport investment decisions. The real challenge will be to develop a methodology that is both robust and comprehensive, while being useful and cost-effective.”

A primary focus of the work will be on estimating the economic benefits of public transport that result from the agglomeration of economic activities, which may involve an expansion of the labour market and an increase in productivity. Such factors are not typically accounted for currently. The team expects findings of the study to play an important role in the selection of future projects funded by the Federal Transit Administration.

The team will report on its findings to the Transportation Research Board in summer 2010.

Notes for the Editor

1. The new methodology will be used as part of the assessment of the cost-effectiveness of projects that seek Federal funding under the FTA’s small starts and new starts programs.
2. The FTA has a budget of around $10bn per year which in 2007 allocated $160 million to fund Denver’s Light Rail Scheme & other major interventions across the USA. For more information visit www.fta.dot.gov
3. The Alan M Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey is a national leader in transport research. For more information on the Voorhees Transportation Center, visit http://bloustein.rutgers.edu/