Economic and environmental appraisal of transport improvement projects.

The process of appraisal assesses whether a proposed transport improvement process is worthwhile. It defines objectives, and uses indicators that provide evidence of the success of specific policy decisions in meeting those objectives. It includes forecasting the effects of each specific proposal on these indicators, and weighing them up to decide whether the proposal is on the whole beneficial. 'Project' is here defined broadly and can be construction of new transport infrastructure, a traffic management scheme, or even an integrated strategy. Transport appraisal usually seeks an 'efficient' allocation of scarce resources, so that considerations of economic efficiency and cost-benefit analysis both play important parts. Valuation methods should consider transport efficiency, safety, and environmental evaluation. Equity considerations require finding out who gains and who loses from a specific project. A project may also be motivated by the need to encourage economic development and promote specific patterns of land use. Budget constraints and financial implications also need to be considered. Financial appraisals and appraisals of pricing policies need to be complemented by allowing for many items that are not valued in money terms, by including 'social' costs and benefits; a multi-criteria weighting system may be used. For the covering abstract, see IRRD 892228.