This Paper presents the results of an evaluation of 51 'Black Spot' projects funded by the Australian Government, 26 in Victoria and 25 in New South Wales. The evaluation was based on the record of accidents before and after approved treatments were put in place. In order to isolate actual treatment effects, adjustments were made to take account of the major recent decline in accidents in suitable control areas.

• Cost–Effectiveness of 'Black Spot' Treatments : A Pilot Study
  
  wp_009.pdf
  (3.57 MB)

This study evaluates the economic benefits of the Federal Government's Black Spot Program. The study assesses the crash reduction benefits of a variety of road engineering treatments based on a sample of 254 projects drawn from all States and Territories.

• Evaluation of the Black Spot Program
  
  report_090.pdf
  (1.85 MB)

This Paper provides an account of preliminary work on urban traffic congestion that forms part of the BTCE project on Urban Transport Externalities. The project is concerned with a range of external impacts of urban transport. Congestion is just one of these impacts but, because it is so intimately related to the traffic patterns which give rise to the others, it has been made the focus of the initial work.

• Urban Congestion: Modelling Traffic Patterns, Delays and Optimal Tolls
  
  wp_015.pdf
  (4.98 MB)

Urban travel behaviour is very complex. Analysts have tried to capture its main features in models that provide estimates of the levels and patterns of traffic on the urban road network. While the models are correspondingly complex, they are still radical simplifications of real urban systems. Their treatment of some aspects of travel behaviour can only be described as rudimentary. Nevertheless, they represent the state of the art in quantitative urban transport analysis, and they provide a valuable framework for thinking about urban policy issues.

• Traffic Congestion and Road User Charges in Australian Capital Cities
  
  report_092.pdf
  (801.21 KB)

TRUCKMOD is BTCE's model of the Australian road freight vehicle fleet. It was designed principally to estimate the dynamic effects of policies that alter the distribution of the vehicle task. As far as BTCE is aware this is the first vintage specific model of the road freight vehicle fleet in Australia. The model covers the period 1991 to 2015.

• Costs of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Australian Road Freight Vehicles: An Application of the BTCE TRUCKMOD Model
  
  wp_022.pdf
  (6.43 MB)

Policy instruments evaluated in this working paper are the accelerated implementation of fuel efficiency technology for new cars, the accelerated scrappage of highly polluting vehicles, tighter emission standards for new cars, and mandatory regular tuning of vehicles. Analysis of such policy options relies on the CARMOD model of the dynamics of the Australian car fleet.

• Costs of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Australian Cars: an Application of the BTCE CARMOD Model
  
  wp_024.pdf
  (10.87 MB)

The value of transport safety is an important input to decisions on policies and investments with safety implications and for measuring the burden of transport accidents to the community. There are a number of approaches which may be used in valuing transport safety. The purpose of this Working Paper is to provide an appraisal of the approaches available and issues involved in valuing transport safety along with a survey of international developments.

• Valuing Transport Safety in Australia
  
  wp_026.pdf
  (5.43 MB)

The Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics (BTCE) is examining a number of issues in measuring the benefits of transport infrastructure investment. The issue examined in this paper is how to estimate the employment effects of road construction activity. Other papers from the same project have examined regional development effects, and certain tools for evaluating benefits.

• Employment Effects of Road Construction
  
  wp_029.pdf
  (4.18 MB)

Previous BTCE work (Report 94) has established that reductions in pavement roughness reduce fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions (end-use only) and vehicle operating costs. This Paper evaluates the effects on greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle operating costs of reducing the roughness of the National Highway System and the Pacific Highway over the period 1996–2015. The analysis takes account of the emissions involved in the production, transport and application of road rehabilitation materials. Some results of case studies of recently completed highway rehabilitation projects are included in the Paper.

• Roads, Vehicle Performance and Greenhouse: Costs and Emission Benefits of Smoother Highways
  
  wp_032.pdf
  (13.58 MB)

What role should the private sector play in road provision? Private contractors already perform a fair amount of the design, construction and maintenance of Australia's publicly owned roads. The evidence reviewed in this paper indicates benefits from further contracting out of road work to the private sector. In many cases, contracting out of road maintenance has reduced costs by 15 per cent or more. The evidence is less conclusive on the benefits of private investment in roads. Whether private toll roads are more efficient than other arrangements for road provision needs to be carefully examined case by case. Public ownership could be a better option than private ownership for some toll roads.

• Benefits of Private Sector Involvement In Road Provision: A Look at the Evidence
  
  wp_033.pdf
  (121.59 KB)