IMPROVING THE PROCESS OF PROGRAMMING TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENTS

This paper presents a methodology that integrates regional equity, funding constraints, public acceptance, and uncertainty into a technical programming procedure. Developed for the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, it can be used to generate tentative multiple- period investment programs that are reasonably efficient in an economic sense and comply with a variety of funding, legislative, and community constraints. The program generation procedure is a heuristic one, based on marginal analysis. It handles independent and mutually exclusive investments, project benefit interdependencies, multiple funding sources, regional and other expenditure minimums, and functional classification constraints. It uses a measure of benefits, the capital cost, and an estimate of the political acceptability of each proposed investment to determine its suitability over alternative projects. The procedure can be made to handle virtually any number of potential investments and has been programmed for computerized operation. In the overall framework of an iterative and participatory transportation planning process among communities, regional planning authorities, and state agencies, this methodology provides a valuable and efficient tool for (a) combining a great deal of essential data into tentative programs and (b) clarifying the trade-offs between and among programs. The resulting programs can then serve as the basis for further discussion and compromise.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1976/599/599-004.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=IMPROVING+THE+PROCESS+OF+PROGRAMMING+TRANSPORTATION+INVESTMENTS&author=R.+Juster&author=W.+Pecknold&publication_year=1976
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by Committee on Application of Economic Analysis to Transportation Problems. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Juster, Richard D
  • Pecknold, Wayne M
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 19-24
• Monograph Title: Transportation programming, economic analysis, and evaluation of energy constraints
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 599
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Computer programs; Equity; Investments; Transportation planning
• Uncontrolled Terms: Fund allocations
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00148662
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309025680
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-020 305
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Mar 15 1977 12:00AM