In this paper, the researchers address three issues in valuing time savings for commercial vehicles in connection with highway project evaluation: 1) What is the current practice of various road authorities regarding the value of commercial vehicles' time savings (VCVTS) ? 2) Is the current practice satisfactory, i.e., are current valuations consistent with theory and empirical evidence regarding time savings for commercial freight vehicles ? 3) What are the implications for cost benefit analysis (CBA) of the valuation of saving time for freight vehicles ? The first two questions are relatively straight-forward and are addressed in the first half of the paper. The third question is more controversial. Some argue that static CBA techniques understate the benefits from transport investments because standard techniques do not capture the "industrial reorganization benefits" which can arise from improved transportation. These reorganization benefits are particularly associated with modern logistics practices. (A)
Samenvatting