Rail bonus: An empirical study onto relative valuation of railways in Austria

Abstract

The roll of railways in rural areas is a subject of wide range of discussions. Cost benefit analysis (CBA) gives us some quantitative indicators to discuss it, while social benefits estimated through CBA are currently not comprehensive. Some studies have shown the existence of the rail bonus, which leads to people's preference of rail-based transportation to bus-based transportation. Others have made attempts to quantify option values (OV) and non-user values (NUV), which has been excluded from conventional CBA. It is difficult to apply those studies to practical issues. In this paper, using the contingent valuation method (CVM), an estimation of railways' additional relative values over buses in Austria, which are comparable and applicable to other cases, is made. The results show that premium rates obtained from the survey data from residents along two Austrian regional railways are around ten percent on average, which are similar to the results of prior researches in Japan. Those premium rates are recognized not only by frequent users but also by occasional users or non-users, which means that OV and NUV greatly contribute to the rail bonus. It is also found that the rail bonus could depend on geographical conditions, to some extent.