Vehicle value of travel time savings: Evidence from a group based modelling approach

Abstract

The value of travel time savings (VTTS) accounts for a majority of the total user benefits in economic appraisal of transport investments. This means that having an accurate estimate of VTTS for different segments of travel continues to retain currency, despite there being a rich literature on estimates of VTTS for different travel modes, travel purposes, income groups, life cycles, and distance bands. In contrast, there is a dearth of research and evidence on vehicle VTTS, although joint travel by car is an important segment of travel. This paper fills this gap by developing a group-based modelling approach to quantify the vehicle VTTS and compares this with the VTTS for a driver with and without a passenger. An online survey was conducted in Sydney in 2014 and the data used to obtain a number of new empirical estimates of vehicle and driver VTTS. The new evidence questions the validity of various assumptions adopted in current practice for valuing the time savings of car passengers and multiple occupant cars.