Transportation planning
Transportation Planning Planning Offices Office of Transportation Economics Benefit-Cost Analysis Benefit-Cost Analysis
Benefit-Cost Analysis, also sometimes referred to as Cost-Benefit Analysis, is a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a project for two purposes:
- to determine if it is a sound investment (justification/feasibility)
- to see how it compares with alternate projects (ranking/priority assignment)
Benefit-Cost Analysis works by first defining the project and any alternatives; then identifying, measuring, and valuing the benefits and costs of each.
When should benefit-cost analysis be used?
This website leads users, step by step, through the process of benefit-cost analysis, explaining concepts and describing methodologies.
Topics 1 through 4 below guide the user through the analysis.
Topics 5 through 7 provide examples of benefit-cost analysis and references for further information.
Use the overhead menu to navigate between these topics.
What You Will Find on This Website
- How to define the problem that the project addresses and set up the analysis
- How to measure and value benefits and costs of transportation projects
- How to calculate benefit-cost measures
- How to interpret and present the results of benefit-cost analysis
- Sample benefit-cost models and links to model sites
- Case studies of benefit-cost analyses for transportation projects
- References
All topics related to benefits and costs and their measurement methodologies are defined, then summarized, and then discussed in greater detail. For people wanting further detail, the site provides links and references. Simplicity and user-friendliness is our top priority.
Acknowledgements
Hosted by the Caltrans Office of Transportation Economics
Created by the California Center for Innovative Transportation at the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California at Berkeley and the Committee on Planning and Economics of the American Society of Civil Engineers
Acknowledgements | Comments and Suggestions