While a great deal has been written on the theory and application of optimal road price and investment policy, relatively little attention has been given to the subject of roads policy in practice. This monograph's main concern is the latter line of inquiry, focusing attention on the complex of political, legal, economic and institutional factors which have shaped Commonwealth and State government roads policy in Australia since the 1920s through to the 1980s.

• Roads Policy and Australian Federalism
  
  op_106.pdf
  (13.89 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)

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)

Using the Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics' Road Infrastructure Assessment Model (RIAM), the Roads 2020 study makes forecasts at a strategic level of expenditure needs for investment and maintenance between 1998 and 2005 and between 2005 and 2020. It also indicates the locations and types of these expenditures. The forecasts cover non-urban roads and bridges which are either part of the National Highway System or are considered to be of national significance by the States and Territories. Expenditures predicted are upgrading road capacity (widening, adding lanes), town bypasses, maintenance, and bridge replacement. Some types of investment have been omitted because of data deficiencies or modelling difficulties. The exclusions are urban roads, flood mitigation projects, major realignment projects and widening roads used by road trains for safety reasons. Investments justified on social or equity grounds are also excluded. Traffic levels were forecast using population projections and origin-destination data. Total forecast expenditure needs for the National Highway System for the coming 22 year period have been estimated at $16.8 billion of which the backlog comprises $2.6 billion.

• Roads 2020
  
  wp_035.pdf
  (581.12 KB)

The Bureau of Transport Economics (BTE) has developed and applied methods for forecasting light vehicle traffic on the nation's roads. This paper describes the methods and provides estimates and projections of light vehicle traffic within major Australian cities and on Australia's principal non-urban highways. A simple model was developed to predict the growth of total light vehicle traffic in each of Australia's major cities. When linked to congestion models, the BTE results presage a looming congestion problem in our cities. The most significant contribution of the Working Paper is the development of new models for long-term forecasting of light vehicle traffic on Australia's non-urban highways. As far as the BTE is aware, its methodology has not previously been used in Australian studies. Data from a number of different sources have been utilised to estimate interregional passenger travel by domestic residents and light vehicle highway traffic. The traffic projections indicate that growth in traffic volumes on the National Highway system will be greatest on those sections linking the major capitals; Adelaide Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and regional centres in between.

• Forecasting Light Vehicle Traffic
  
  wp_038.pdf
  (4.44 MB)

Increasingly in Australia, trucking is an essential feature of economic activity, with road being the only mode possible for much freight traffic (eg in cities), and with rail tending to be less competitive than road on many intercity links.

• Trends in Trucks and Traffic
  
  is_015.pdf
  (212.06 KB)

Urban car travel in Australia is expected to continue to grow appreciably over the next 20 years (by close to 30 per cent) though at a somewhat slower rate of growth than for the last few decades.

• Urban Congestion: the Implications for Greenhouse Gas Emissions
  
  is_016.pdf
  (124.61 KB)

Local roads are considered by regional communities to be a major contributor to their prosperity and social amenity. This report presents the first detailed picture of local road spending at the regional level. Recently, local roads have attracted considerable attention and debate at the national level. However, we simply do not have the detailed statistics and analyses required to understand the adequacy of local road spending nationally. Because there is no central source of data on regional roads, the writing of this report required the collection of financial data from no less than sixteen sources across Australia. The BTE understands that the Australian Bureau of Statistics has work in hand to upgrade regional statistics. Consequently our understanding of local road finances should improve over the next few years.

• Spending on Local Roads
  
  wp_044.pdf
  (569.77 KB)