www.vtpi.org [email protected] 250-508-5150 Evaluating Active Transport Benefits and Costs Guide to Valuing Walking and Cycling Improvements and Encouragement Programs 1 September 2021 Todd Litman Victoria Transport Policy Institute Abstract This report describes methods for evaluating the benefits and costs of active transport (walking, cycling, and their variants, also called non-motorized and human-powered travel). It describes various types of benefits, costs and methods for measuring them. These include direct benefits to users from improved active transport conditions, various benefits to society from increased walking and cycling activity, reduced motor vehicle travel, and more compact and multi-modal community development. It discusses active transport demands and ways to increase walking and cycling activity. This analysis indicates that many active transport benefits tend to be overlooked or undervalued in conventional transport economic evaluation. This report updates and expands on: Todd Litman (2004), “Quantifying the Benefits of Nonmotorized Transportation for Achieving Mobility Management Objectives,” Transportation Research Record 1441, pp. 134-140. Todd Litman 1997-2021 You are welcome and encouraged to copy, distribute, share and excerpt this document and its ideas, provided the author is given attribution. Please send you corrections, comments and suggestions for improvement. Evaluating Active Transport Benefits and Costs Victoria Transport Policy Institute Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................... 2 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 3 Active Transport Demand and Modeling ...................................................................... 5 Evaluating Active Travel Conditions ............................................................................ 10 Benefit and Cost Categories ........................................................................................ 11 User Benefits .................................................................................................................. 13 Option Value ................................................................................................................... 15 Social Equity Benefits ..................................................................................................... 15 Physical Fitness and Health ........................................................................................... 17 Vehicle Savings .............................................................................................................. 20 Reduced Chauffeuring Burdens ..................................................................................... 20 Congestion Reduction .................................................................................................... 21 Barrier Effect ................................................................................................................... 24 Roadway Costs Savings ................................................................................................. 25 Parking Cost Savings ..................................................................................................... 25 Traffic Safety Impacts ..................................................................................................... 26 Security (Reduced Crime Risk) ...................................................................................... 28 Energy Conservation ...................................................................................................... 29 Pollution Reduction ......................................................................................................... 29 Land Use Impacts ........................................................................................................... 30 Economic Opportunity and Resilience ........................................................................... 32 Economic Development .................................................................................................. 33 Costs ........................................................................................................................... 38 Facility Costs .................................................................................................................. 38 Vehicle Traffic Impacts ................................................................................................... 39 Equipment and Fuel Costs ............................................................................................. 39 User Travel Time Costs .................................................................................................. 39 Benefit and Cost Summary .......................................................................................... 41 Improved Active Travel Conditions ................................................................................. 43 Increased Active Travel Activity...................................................................................... 44 Reduced Automobile Travel ........................................................................................... 44 Land Use Impacts ........................................................................................................... 45 Active Transport Costs ................................................................................................... 45 Active Transport Improvement and Encouragement Strategies ................................... 46 Evaluating Specific Active Mode Improvements .......................................................... 49 Determining Optimum Investments ............................................................................. 53 Active Transport Evaluation Examples and Case Studies ........................................... 55 Recommendations for Comprehensive Evaluation ...................................................... 65 Criticisms .................................................................................................................... 66 Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 68 References and Information Resources ...................................................................... 69 1 Evaluating Active Transport Benefits and Costs Victoria Transport Policy Institute Executive Summary Active transport (also called non-motorized transport or NMT, and human powered transport) refers to walking, cycling, and variants such as wheelchair, scooter, and handcart use. Active transport plays important and unique roles in an efficient and equitable transportation system. It provides basic mobility, affordable transport, access to motorized modes, physical fitness, and enjoyment. Improving active conditions can benefit users directly, plus provide various indirect benefits, so even people who do not use a particular sidewalk, crosswalk, path, or bike-rack often benefit from their existence. This report describes the impacts (benefits and costs) of policies and projects that improve active transport conditions and increase active mode use. It discusses factors that affect these impacts, describes methods for quantifying and monetizing (measuring in monetary units) them. Table ES-1 lists various categories of active transport benefits and costs. Conventional transport economic evaluation tends to overlook and undervalue active benefits and so tends to underinvest in walking and cycling improvements. Table ES-1 Active Transportation (AT) Benefits and Costs Improved Active More Active Transport Reduced Automobile More Compact Transport Conditions Travel Travel Communities Improved user Reduced traffic Improved accessibility, convenience, comfort User enjoyment congestion particularly for non- and safety Improved public fitness Road and parking facility drivers Improved accessibility and health cost savings Transport cost savings for non-drivers, which More local economic Consumer savings Reduced sprawl costs supports equity activity objectives Reduced chauffeuring Openspace Increased community burdens Benefits Option value preservation cohesion (positive Increased traffic safety Higher property values interactions among More livable Energy conservation communities Improved public realm neighbors) (more attractive More neighborhood Pollution reductions Higher property values streets) security Economic development Increased security Equipment costs (shoes, Facility costs bikes, etc.) Increases in some Costs Lower traffic speeds Increased crash risk Slower travel development costs Active transport has various benefits and costs. Some of these impacts are relatively easy to measure. Economists often monetize facility costs, traffic congestion, vehicle operation, crash damage, and pollution costs. Methods also exist for evaluating health impacts, social equity, affordability and option value (the value of maintaining a currently-unused option) benefits, user enjoyment, and additional environmental benefits such as habitat preservation. This guide describes these methods and how they can be used for more comprehensive evaluation of active impacts. This report should be of interest to transportation policy analysts, planners, economists and engineers, plus active transport advocates. 2 Evaluating Active Transport