In transport economics, [1] the value of time is the opportunity cost of the time that a traveler spends on their journey. In essence, this makes it the amount that a traveler would be willing to pay in order to save time, or the amount they would accept as compensation for lost time.
One of the main justifications [ citation needed ] for transport improvements is the amount of time that travelers will save. Using a set of values of time, the economic benefits of a transport project can be quantified in order to compare them to the costs (thus forming the basis of cost-benefit analysis). In particular, savings (or, for that matter, increases) in travel time form part of the change in consumer surplus for a transport project.
Values of time are used to calculate the non-monetary costs incurred as part of a journey, so that the generalized cost of the journey (a combination of both monetary and non-monetary costs) can be calculated.
The value of time varies considerably from person to person and depends upon the purpose of the journey, but it can generally be divided into two sets of valuations: working time and non-working time. This division is appropriate because the value of working time (i.e., time spent traveling in the course of work) is calculated differently from the value of non-working time (i.e., time spent traveling outside work).
For example, if a worker on a salary of £20 per hour travels to a meeting, the value of time in that case is £20 per hour, because that is the amount the employer would be willing to pay to reduce travel time (as travel time can be considered to be "wasted", i.e., not spent working).
In practice, time spent traveling on certain modes (especially train, but also bus and car passengers) can sometimes be used to carry out some work, while time spent using certain other modes (especially car drivers, cyclists, and walkers) cannot be used to carry out work. Thus, the value of travel time (and thus the value of travel time reductions) for modes where the employee could carry on doing some work is lower for employees already using any such mode. Conversely, the value of travel time reductions for such modes for employees currently using a mode that does not allow carry out work (and who would switch mode) is larger.
The UK Department for Transport calculates average values of time for travel on various modes of transport so that these values can be used to appraise transport projects as part of its New Approach to Appraisal. [2] Some examples are given below in 2002 prices:
∗ Skewed by London wages
The US Department for Transport [3] uses the average value of time for infrastructure projects at 50% of the wage rate. Recent experimental research across the US suggests that this value should be 75%. [4]
This is time spent outside our work, which might include journeys to and from work and leisure journeys. Since this time is not valued in a market, it can only be estimated from revealed preference or stated preference analysis techniques, where the real or hypothetical choices of travelers between faster, more expensive modes and slower, cheaper modes can be examined.
For example, if a traveler has a choice between a coach which takes six hours and costs £10, or a train which takes four hours and costs £30, we can deduce that if the traveler chooses the train, their value of time is £10 per hour or more (because they are willing to spend at least £20 to save two hours' travel time).
The difficulty in narrowing down the actual value of time from a pair of choices means that hypothetical situations are generally used (the stated preference technique) to deduce values of time.
The value of non-working time is linked strongly to utility theory.
The value of time cannot be assumed constant over time. Time is a limited good and as productivity and income increase, the relative value of time increases as well. [5] Historically, the projection of the value of time has been closely linked to personal income growth, which in practical applications is typically approximated by GDP growth. Due to a substantial amount of uncertainty in predicting the relationship between income and the value of time, it is common to apply relatively simple “rule-of-thumb” estimates that are measured as elasticity to income.
Generally, it is not clear what the elasticity should be, [6] and from a theoretical standpoint there is no reason why the income elasticity for private travel should be unity, since it is a matter of personal preference how individuals or households allocate additional income to purchasing time savings.
Transport economics is a branch of economics founded in 1959 by American economist John R. Meyer that deals with the allocation of resources within the transport sector. It has strong links to civil engineering. Transport economics differs from some other branches of economics in that the assumption of a spaceless, instantaneous economy does not hold. People and goods flow over networks at certain speeds. Demands peak. Advance ticket purchase is often induced by lower fares. The networks themselves may or may not be competitive. A single trip may require the bundling of services provided by several firms, agencies and modes.
The value of life is an economic value used to quantify the benefit of avoiding a fatality. It is also referred to as the cost of life, value of preventing a fatality (VPF), implied cost of averting a fatality (ICAF), and value of a statistical life (VSL). In social and political sciences, it is the marginal cost of death prevention in a certain class of circumstances. In many studies the value also includes the quality of life, the expected life time remaining, as well as the earning potential of a given person especially for an after-the-fact payment in a wrongful death claim lawsuit.
Parking is the act of stopping and disengaging a vehicle and usually leaving it unoccupied. Parking on one or both sides of a road is often permitted, though sometimes with restrictions. Some buildings have parking facilities for use of the buildings' users. Countries and local governments have rules for design and use of parking spaces.
Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular or often repeated travel between locations, even when not work-related. The modes of travel, time taken and distance traveled in commuting varies widely across the globe. Most people in least-developed countries continue to walk to work. The cheapest method of commuting after walking is usually by bicycle, so this is common in low-income countries but is also increasingly practised by people in wealthier countries for environmental, health, and often time reasons. In middle-income countries, motorcycle commuting is very common.
In mathematics, a rate is the quotient of two quantities, often represented as a fraction. If the divisor in the rate is equal to one expressed as a single unit, and if it is assumed that this quantity can be changed systematically, then the dividend of the rate expresses the corresponding rate of change in the other (dependent) variable. In some cases, it may be regarded as a change to a value, which is caused by a change of a value in respect to another value. For example, acceleration is a change in velocity with respect to time
Cost–benefit analysis (CBA), sometimes also called benefit–cost analysis, is a systematic approach to estimating the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives. It is used to determine options which provide the best approach to achieving benefits while preserving savings in, for example, transactions, activities, and functional business requirements. A CBA may be used to compare completed or potential courses of action, and to estimate or evaluate the value against the cost of a decision, project, or policy. It is commonly used to evaluate business or policy decisions, commercial transactions, and project investments. For example, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission must conduct cost-benefit analyses before instituting regulations or deregulations.
Carpooling is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves. Carpooling is considered a Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT) service.
In economics, induced demand – related to latent demand and generated demand – is the phenomenon whereby an increase in supply results in a decline in price and an increase in consumption. In other words, as a good or service becomes more readily available and mass produced, its price goes down and consumers are more likely to buy it, meaning that the quantity demanded subsequently increases. This is consistent with the economic model of supply and demand.
Enterprise value (EV), total enterprise value (TEV), or firm value (FV) is an economic measure reflecting the market value of a business. It is a sum of claims by all claimants: creditors and shareholders. Enterprise value is one of the fundamental metrics used in business valuation, financial analysis, accounting, portfolio analysis, and risk analysis.
Ecosystem valuation is an economic process which assigns a value to an ecosystem and/or its ecosystem services. By quantifying, for example, the human welfare benefits of a forest to reduce flooding and erosion while sequestering carbon, providing habitat for endangered species, and absorbing harmful chemicals, such monetization ideally provides a tool for policy-makers and conservationists to evaluate management impacts and compare a cost-benefit analysis of potential policies. However, such valuations are estimates, and involve the inherent quantitative uncertainty and philosophical debate of evaluating a range non-market costs and benefits.
Intermodal passenger transport, also called mixed-mode commuting, involves using two or more modes of transportation in a journey. Mixed-mode commuting is often used to combine the strengths of various transportation options. A major goal of modern intermodal passenger transport is to reduce dependence on the automobile as the major mode of ground transportation and increase use of public transport. To assist the traveller, various intermodal journey planners such as Rome2rio and Google Transit have been devised to help travellers plan and schedule their journey.
A shadow price is the monetary value assigned to an abstract or intangible commodity which is not traded in the marketplace. This often takes the form of an externality. Shadow prices are also known as the recalculation of known market prices in order to account for the presence of distortionary market instruments. Shadow prices are the real economic prices given to goods and services after they have been appropriately adjusted by removing distortionary market instruments and incorporating the societal impact of the respective good or service. A shadow price is often calculated based on a group of assumptions and estimates because it lacks reliable data, so it is subjective and somewhat inaccurate.
The travel cost method of economic valuation, travel cost analysis, or Clawson method is a revealed preference method of economic valuation used in cost–benefit analysis to calculate the value of something that cannot be obtained through market prices. The aim of the method is to calculate willingness to pay for a constant price facility. The technique was first suggested by the statistician Harold Hotelling in a 1947 letter to the director of the National Park Service of the United States for a method to measure the benefit of National Parks to the public. The method was further refined by Trice and Wood (1958) and Clawson (1959). The technique is one approach to the estimation of a shadow price.
Social discount rate (SDR) is the discount rate used in computing the value of funds spent on social projects. Discount rates are used to put a present value on costs and benefits that will occur at a later date. Determining this rate is not always easy and can be the subject of discrepancies in the true net benefit to certain projects, plans and policies. The discount rate is considered as a critical element in cost–benefit analysis when the costs and the benefits differ in their distribution over time, this usually occurs when the project that is being studied is over a long period of time.
In transport economics, the generalised cost is the sum of the monetary and non-monetary costs of a journey. It is sometimes used as a basis for judgements of transit accessibility and equitable distribution of public transit resources.
Compared to other popular modes of passenger transportation, the car has a relatively high cost per person-distance travelled. The income elasticity for cars ranges from very elastic in poor countries, to inelastic in rich nations. The advantages of car usage include on-demand and door-to-door travel, and are not easily substituted by cheaper alternative modes of transport, with the present level and type of auto specific infrastructure in the countries with high auto usage.
In public transportation, schedule adherence or on-time performance refers to the level of success of the service remaining on the published schedule. On time performance, sometimes referred to as on time running, is normally expressed as a percentage, with a higher percentage meaning more vehicles are on time. The level of on time performance for many transport systems is a very important measure of the effectiveness of the system.
Transport or transportation is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land, water, cable, pipelines, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations. Transport enables human trade, which is essential for the development of civilizations.
Public transport is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typically managed on a schedule, operated on established routes, and that may charge a posted fee for each trip. There is no rigid definition of which kinds of transport are included, and air travel is often not thought of when discussing public transport—dictionaries use wording like "buses, trains, etc." Examples of public transport include city buses, trolleybuses, trams and passenger trains, rapid transit and ferries. Public transport between cities is dominated by airlines, coaches, and intercity rail. High-speed rail networks are being developed in many parts of the world.
This glossary of economics is a list of definitions containing terms and concepts used in economics, its sub-disciplines, and related fields.
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(help)Vickerman, R.W. 1975 The Economics of Leisure and Recreation, London:Macmillan