Abstract
A PRIME JUSTIFICATION FOR THE ROADS PROGRAMME IS TO IMPROVE INDUSTRIAL COMPETITIVENESS BY REDUCING TRANSPORT COSTS. YET LITTLE EMPIRICAL WORK HAS BEEN DONE TO EXAMINE THIS LINKAGE. THIS IS BECAUSE ROADS TEND TO BE IMPROVED INCREMENTALLY EXCEPT WHERE ESTUARIES ARE CROSSED. A CASE STUDY OF 52 REGULAR COMMERCIAL USERS OF THE NEW HUMBER BRIDGE DEMONSTRATES THAT OPERATORS ADJUSTED BY INCREASING VEHICLE UTILISATION, INCREASING MARKET PENETRATION, CHANGING MARKET AREAS SERVED, AND BY INTERNAL RATIONALISATION. LABOUR TIME SAVINGS COULD GENERALLY BE PRODUCTIVELY USED SO THAT IN THIS CASE, THE "COST SAVING" APPROACH TO VALUING WORKING TIME SAVINGS IS NOT UNREASONABLE.(Author/publisher).