Abstract
A prerequisite for any monetary estimation of economic losses arising from traffic congestion is a reliable estimate of the value of travel time. Although the available evidence from abroad reveals significant differences in the values of individual components of time travel, specific valuations of travel time are rather rare in the Czech Republic. The aim of this paper is to expand the data base in the Czech Republic by presenting selected estimates of the travel time components for Czech drivers and passengers. Specifically, we elaborate on the value of travel time and time spent in congestion for medium-long domestic routes (represented by the Prague-Brno route). The results of our valuation study (N = 602) show that the value of travel time spent in congestion is almost twice as high as the value of travel time in free-flow traffic and suggest that the reduction of congestion and of the variation in travel time in general will bring significant economic benefits compared to shortening travel time in free-flow traffic. This evidence confirms the importance of distinguishing between different components of travel time when assessing the benefits of transport infrastructures. Importantly, our estimates of the value of travel time are much lower than those officially endorsed by Czech Ministry of Transport (MoT) for analysing benefits of new transport infrastructure.
Highlights
A calculation of the value of travel time is a prerequisite for any monetary estimation of economic losses arising from traffic congestion
Since the 1960s, a large number of studies have been carried out to measure the value of travel time (VoT), and gradually to distinguish its different components
The available evidence from abroad shows large differences in the values of individual travel time components, and in spite of the fact that the stated preference methods have been successfully used in the Czech Republic in the valuation of environmental goods, specific values of travel time and individual travel time components are rather rare in the Czech Republic
Summary
A calculation of the value of travel time is a prerequisite for any monetary estimation of economic losses arising from traffic congestion. Other more recent studies reported 171 CZK/hour for business trips by bus (Šmerdová, 2016) and 167 CZK/hour by train (Moravec, 2016). Note that these estimates – both findings of student theses – are based on surveys on limited samples (N = 111 and N = 101, respectively). Two other studies reported the value of time for urban travel at 73 CZK/hour and 36 CZK/hour for car and public transport respectively (Kašík, 2011), and at 112 CZK/hour (Braun Kohlová, 2011), which is typically lower than the value for intercity travel by up to 30% (USDOT, 2011). For example the methodology employed by the MoT uses the value of CZK 600 per hour (MoT, 2017)
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