Cost-benefit analysis as an evaluation tool for ITS investments

The method of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) used for evaluation of infrastructure investments was developed for traditional road investments. Is the method a useful tool for evaluation of investments in intelligent transportation systems (ITS) as well? The literature study and the discussion in this report show that CBA generally is a useful tool for evaluating the economic efficiency of ITS investments. Regarding some ITS applications, especially those that provide travellers with real time traffic information, there will be more uncertainty in the traffic analyses which are the basis for CBA calculations. Further, there may exist benefits to travellers that are not usually included in user benefit calculations in CBA. Possible alternative calculation methods are presented.