Time Savings for Cars not Treated as a Benefit in Welsh Transport Schemes

When assessing transport schemes in Wales, journey time savings for private car users are no longer considered as a benefit for Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) purposes.

That’s according to a blogpost by former Welsh Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport Lee Waters.

Welsh Transport Strategy

He says that the 2021 Welsh Transport Strategy put modal shift at the heart of Welsh government transport policy. It sets a target of increasing trips by sustainable modes from 32% to 45% by 2040.

Grand plans and strategies are one thing, but delivery mechanisms are often programmed to produce business as usual.

The Design Manual for Roads and Bridges prioritises traffic flow, and the UK Treasury Green Book insists on monetising notional journey time savings.

Unless the system is ‘rewired’, meaningful change will not result.

Maintenance Programmes

Maintenance programmes are often used as a way of increasing road capacity, resulting in induced demand.

Day-to-day maintenance has been neglected in favour of building new roads or widening existing ones.

Where there are collision blackspots, instead of expensive reconfiguring of junctions, speed reduction could deliver quicker results with far less embedded carbon.

Following a review, the Welsh government adopted a new approach where it primarily invests in routine maintenance.

Maintenance work should maximise every opportunity to deliver modal shift, provide a net benefit for biodiversity, minimise pollution, and reduce carbon emissions.

Reducing speed and/or road capacity should always be considered.

Appraisal of Schemes

The Welsh government has also revised the Welsh Transport Appraisal Guidance, WelTAG.

Traditionally, the BCR of schemes was key, and notional journey time savings were given high priority.

‘A scheme that is said to save one minute on an average car journey is then assigned a value to the economy of how that minute will boost productivity, it is multiplied by the number of people who will drive that stretch every day, and multiplied again by thirty to cover the number of years the scheme is expected to deliver over.

This tendentious figure is then given almost sacred status in government decision-making…for the value the scheme will provide for the economy.

A finger in the air becomes an economic fact’.

In WelTAG, projects are tested against five criteria, the first two of which are:

• strategic fit with the Welsh Transport Strategy and
• whether the project delivers well-being benefits set out in the Welsh Transport Strategy, including targets on modal shift

If the project doesn’t meet these criteria, it will not be considered for further development, funding or support.

Guidance

The Welsh government has also tried to change the culture of transport professionals and users through guidance.

People decide what to do, and appraisal processes can be gamed. Unless there is culture change, road schemes will keep coming forward.

Consistent decisions must be made which reward schemes that are in line with the new direction and refuse funding for those that are not.

Guidance to local authorities when developing Regional Transport Plans has been changed. The plans must be firmly focused on modal shift.

Instead of automatically outsourcing transport problems to consultants, in-house transport planners are asked to work through a checklist. Road-building should not be the automatic answer.