Monetising time savings makes toll roads financially stack up, says research

Putting a financial value on the savings from traffic congestion, noise and air pollution as a result of toll roads and tunnels will make large infrastructure projects more cost effective, according to a new study by Australia’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Sae Chi, from the university’s Science and Engineering Faculty, has compared the financial and economic cost of public and privately operated toll roads and tunnels, and found the net impacts to the community should be taken into account
September 29, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Putting a financial value on the savings from traffic congestion, noise and air pollution as a result of toll roads and tunnels will make large infrastructure projects more cost effective, according to a new study by Australia’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT).


Sae Chi, from the university’s Science and Engineering Faculty, has compared the financial and economic cost of public and privately operated toll roads and tunnels, and found the net impacts to the community should be taken into account in decision-making about transport infrastructure investment.

The research has been published in the Journal of Transportation Engineering titled Measuring impacts and risks to the public of a privately operated toll road project by considering perspectives in cost-benefit analysis.

The report claims that the financial bottom line should not be the only consideration when determining whether or not to invest in toll roads and tunnels.

Governments often partner with the private sector to share the costs and risks of building and operating toll road and tunnel projects. However, the report says that while private operators were looking for a bottom line return on investment, governments needed to consider benefits in addition to toll charges and traffic flows that can result in profits. Even when partnering with the private sector, it is important that governments consider the public benefits and monetise savings such as travel time, reduced costs to drivers and the positive outcomes for the environment. Chi believes that when governments put a financial cost on these factors the cost-benefit analysis sways much more heavily in favour of supporting infrastructure investment.

Chi said current cost-benefit analysis for road and tunnel projects was limited in Australia, and in most cases focused on the financials and not the public benefits. “But governments are responsible for public decision making for the good of their constituents and this includes ensuring that public funds are invested wisely and that regulation of private sector activity ensures a net benefit to society,” she said.

Chi believes the study findings would help support increased infrastructure investment across the nation, especially in high-growth population areas.

Charging, Tolling & RUC

Related Content

  • Maharashtra confirms hyperloop route in India
    February 26, 2018
    Virgin Hyperloop One (VHO) has signed an agreement with the Indian State of Maharashtra to create a route that intends to link central Pune, Navi Mumbai International Airport in 25minutes and connect 26 million people. It aims to eventually support 150 passenger trips annually and save more than 90 million hours of travel time. In addition, an initial pre-feasibility study by VHO indicates that the route could provide socio-economic benefits valued $55m (£39m) over 30 years of operation. It will be deploy
    Read More
  • CBI/AECOM Survey: Three quarters of firms and public doubt improvement over this Parliament
    October 25, 2017
    74% of firms doubt infrastructure will improve over this Parliament and 76% the public doubt any improvement will occur, according to the CBI/AECOM Infrastructure survey 2017. The findings show that both business and the public are concerned about the pace of delivery and a record number of firms are dissatisfied with the state of infrastructure in the region. The report showed that 96% of the 727 businesses surveyed see infrastructure as important to the government’s agenda and 55% view it as critical.
    Read More
  • Making the case for interstate tolling
    May 30, 2014
    A provision in the Grow America Act, introduced to Congress last month by Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, proposes lifting a decades-old ban on tolling existing interstate general purpose lanes. According Daniel Papiernik, HNTB Corporation's mid-Atlantic toll services leader, writing in Roll Call, recent opposition to the proposal is short-sighted. He claims that relying on revenues derived from the gas tax is simply an unsustainable way of funding the nation’s aging roads, bridges and tunnels
    Read More
  • Finland pledges to launch autonomous technology research cluster in 2020
    February 4, 2019
    Finland plans to launch next year a research cluster which the government hopes will put the country at the forefront of developments in autonomous technology. The RAAS (Research Alliance for Autonomous Systems) ‘innovation ecosystem’ is designed to bring together research organisations and other stakeholders to develop “new, cross-sector solutions”, with an emphasis on those containing a high level of automation. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has put up grant money, with research or
    Read More

Highlighted Content