This project involved compiling an inventory of the methods used by the Netherlands' European neighbours to evaluate public transport investment proposals. The public purse cannot finance all the projects put forward. Various methods are therefore used to select the most deserving proposals. This report describes the methods employed in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Great Britain and Germany. Germany proved to have the most thorough method for evaluating public transport investment proposals, namely: the Standardisierte Bewertung von Verkehrsinvestitionen des öffentlichen Personennahverkehrs (SB). In addition to detailed guideliness on how subsidy applications should be formulated, the German method is notable for the number of effects taken into consideration: (1) reduction of journey times for public transport users; (2) the number of vehicle-kilometres saved; (3) positive and negative environmental impact; and (4) quantitative spatial effects.
Abstract