Operations Benefit/Cost Analysis Desk Reference

Foreword

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Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No. FHWA-HOP-12-028	2. Government Accession No.			3. Recipient’s Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle Operations Benefit/Cost Analysis Desk Reference				5. Report Date May 2012
				6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s) Doug Sallman, Erin Flanigan, Krista Jeannotte, Chris Hedden, and Dorothy Morallos – Cambridge Systematics, Inc.				8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address Cambridge Systematics, Inc. 555 12th Street, Suite 1600 Oakland, California 94607				10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
				11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH-61-06-D-00004
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Office of Operations (HOP) 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590				13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report December 2009 to May 2012
				14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes FHWA Contracting Officer's Technical Manager (COTM) Jim Hunt.
16. Abstract This Desk Reference is intended to meet the needs of a wide range of practitioners looking to conduct benefit/cost analysis of operations strategies. The guidance provided in the Desk Reference includes basic background information on benefit/cost analysis, including basic terminology and concepts, intended to support the needs of practitioners just getting started with B/C analysis, who may be unfamiliar with the general process. Building off this primer base, the Desk Reference also describes some of the more complex analytical concepts and latest research in order to support more advanced analysts in conducting their analysis. Some of the more advanced topics include capturing the impacts of travel time reliability; assessing the synergistic effects of combining different strategies; and capturing the benefits and costs of supporting infrastructure, such as traffic surveillance and communications. This Desk Reference is supported by an Operations B/C decision support tool, called the Tool for Operations Benefit/Cost (TOPS-BC). This spreadsheet-based tool is designed to assist practitioners in conducting benefit/cost analysis.
17. Key Words Benefit/Cost Analysis; Cost Benefit Analysis; Economic Analysis; Transportation System Management and Operations; Operations Planning; Analysis Tools; Lifecycle Cost Analysis; Travel Time Reliability Analysis; Multiresolution/Multiscenario Analysis			18. Distribution Statement No restrictions.
19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified		20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified			21. No of Pages 119	22. Price n/a

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)            Reproduction of completed page authorized

Preface/Acknowledgements

The development of the Desk Reference and TOPS-BC was greatly aided by an Expert Review Panel that was formed to provide input and guidance to the project. This Expert Review Panel was comprised of individuals representing Federal, state, regional, and local transportation agencies, as well as research organizations. The Expert Panel has been invaluable in identifying areas of the greatest need for guidance on particular strategies, performance measures and other issues, and in reviewing the guidance materials and the TOPS-BC application. Members of the Expert Panel and other major contributors included:

Jim Allen (New Jersey DOT)

Sam Beydoun (Virginia DOT)

Rashmi Brewer (Minnesota DOT)

Jesse Buerk (Delaware Valley Regional Planning Council)

Mark Burris (Texas Transportation Institute)

Dong Chen (Florida DOT)

Jim Hogan (formally with New Jersey DOT)

Sarath Joshua (Maricopa Association of Governments)

Mena Lockwood (Virginia DOT)

Laurie Matkowski (Delaware Valley Regional Planning Council)

Andrew Meese (Metro Washington Council of Governments)

Dennis Motiani (New Jersey DOT)

Zoe Neaderland (Delaware Valley Regional Planning Council)

Matthew Neeley (Washington State DOT)

Keith Nichols (Hampton Roads Planning District Commission)

Barry Padilla (Caltrans)

Jason Sims (Kansas City SCOUT)

John Shaw (formally with Wisconsin DOT)

Todd Szymkowski (University of Wisconsin/Wisconsin DOT)

Valentin Vulov (Georgia Regional Transportation Authority)

John Wolf (Caltrans)

David Zavattero (City of Chicago)