USERS TIME VALUE. A CASE STUDY FROM PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Whenever a new road is built to a village, people will usually pay cash fares to ride to town where formerly they had walked. Paying to ride represents to them a better deal than walking and yet the economist often has to ignore the time-savings of such rural travellers. A recent study in Papua New Guinea examined this problem closely and came up with a double standard: the users' value of his own time and economic value of his time. In trying to establish a causal relationship between journey cost and trip frequency, it was concluded in this case that a users' time value of around 45 cents (US) per hour was appropriate for people walking or paddling canoes. These perceived values were fixed only after much research and deliberation so that the demand curves could be drawn. The paper describes the results and how they were obtained. The evaluation of mobility benefits was the next stage in the appraisal of projects, and for this it was decided to calculate the range of results, using time-values from 45 cents down to zero. The rural travellers in question were mainly from small-holder farm households, but some allowance had to be made for trips made by government officers. Projects identified in this study were by their rural nature concerned with the provision of initial vehicular access at a very basic level. Benefits arising from reduced vehicle times were overshadowed by benefits on projects involving the changeover from walk to vehicle, provided always that walking time was given a significant value. This paper looks at this question of time, effort and value and describes how it was resolved in this particular study. (Author/TRRL)

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0860501124
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was presented at Seminar G, Developing Countries, held at the PTRC Annual Summer Meeting, University of Warwick, England, 4-7 July, 1983.
• Corporate Authors:

  PTRC Education and Research Services Limited

  110 Strand
  London WC2,   England 
• Authors:
  • WEATHERELL, R M
• Conference:
  • Planning & Transport Res & Comp, Sum Ann Mtg, Proc
• Publication Date: 1983

Media Info

• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: p. 75-82

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Case studies; Conferences; Costs; Demand; Developing countries; Electromagnetic frequencies; Evaluation and assessment; Mobility; Motor vehicles; Present value; Rural areas; Savings; Time; Travel; Travel budgets; Travel costs; Travel time; Travelers; Trip length; Vehicles; Walking
• Uncontrolled Terms: Value
• ITRD Terms: 8525: Conference; 224: Cost; 226: Cost benefit analysis; 285: Demand (econ); 150: Developing countries; 9020: Evaluation (assessment); 698: Journey; 697: Journey time; 9105: Mobility (pers); 1755: Road user; 328: Rural area; 5414: Time; 1255: Vehicle; 758: Walking
• Subject Areas: Economics; Finance; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Society; Vehicles and Equipment; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00382743
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• ISBN: 0-86050-112-4
• Report/Paper Numbers: Volume P240
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 30 1984 12:00AM