Investment benefits not included in appraisals says study

05 December 2007
 
Twenty-five percent of the benefits of investing public money in transport to improve access to major cities are not being counted in transport appraisals.

This was the finding of consultant Steer Davis Gleave, in a study which has highlighted the extent to which Whitehall officials overlook the benefits of public spending on transport upgrades for agglomerations – concentrations of workers and businesses.

Schemes which improve access into city centres – such as Leeds’ proposed bus rapid-transit system and ring road upgrade – boosts city economies by increasing their effective markets.

Leeds City Council’s proposed local transport improvements would have £14M in agglomeration benefits a year, in addition to the £54M benefits for transport-users pinpointed by current appraisals. Most of these ‘hidden’ benefits would be enjoyed by the city region, which also includes Bradford, Wakefield and York. The gross agglomeration benefits of upgrading motorways and railways between Manchester and Leeds would be even higher, at £25M, although smaller as a percentage of the cost of these schemes.

But the consequence of factoring in agglomeration benefits – identified as something that would be beneficial by Sir Rod Eddington’s review into the economic benefits of infrastructure for the Treasury – would be to redirect public money away from smaller towns and towards larger cities. The Department for Transport has ordered a ‘refresh’ to the ‘New approach to transport appraisal’, which Steer Davis Gleave says provides an opportunity to take forward its recommendations.

The case for better transport investment: Agglomeration and growth in the Leeds city region

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