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Is TREDIS a benefit-cost tool or an economic impact tool?

What is the difference between Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) and Economic Impact Analysis (EIA)?

What makes TREDIS different from other models or tools?

How TREDIS differs from C11?

Is TREDIS a travel demand model?

 

 

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Is TREDIS a benefit-cost tool or an economic impact tool?

Question: Travel Demand Model

Answer:  TREDIS provides both types of analysis within the broader context of a “decision support system.” It provides a way to conduct and apply economic analysis (of benefit, costs and impacts) to inform public discussion of transportation-related policies and plans. And it provides a basis for project prioritization, ranking and funding decisions.

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Benefit-Cost Analysis versus Economic Impact Analysis

Question: What is the difference between Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) and Economic Impact Analysis (EIA)?

Answer:  In the transportation context, BCA is usually implemented as a comparison of project costs and user benefits, and is the first stage in a broader process of economic assessment.  It is sometimes referred to as engineering-based analysis because all of its elements – construction cost, traffic flow, safety and emissions – can be directly observed or estimated by transportation engineers and planners.  The results – a benefit/cost ratio and net benefit value – are calculated based on the assignment of monetary valuation factors for transportation-related improvements, which are based on either actual cost or a survey-based “willingness to pay.”  BCA is often used as an element in grant applications and project funding decisions.  

EIA, in contrast, assesses the wider effects on the economy – as reflected by jobs and income for area residents.  It goes well beyond direct user benefits to also consider how transportation projects can affect job access, product delivery markets, supply chain reliability, household budgets and business operating costs – leading to changes in productivity, business location patterns and ultimately employment and income growth for the affected area.  EIA is broader than user benefit analysis in BCA in that it considers wider economic effects on area residents (and not just traveler benefits), but it is narrower in that it does not consider personal time savings or other benefits that do not directly affect the flow of money in the economy (even though they may have a value to people).  There is great public interest in EIA for policy, planning and prioritization, and it is often used alongside BCA for project decision-making.  The TREDIS Economics Suite provides both BCA and EIA.  

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How is TREDIS different?

Question: What makes TREDIS different from other models or tools?

Answer:  TREDIS covers all modes – including air, marine and non-motorized modes, as well as road and rail transportation. It follows through by showing how interactions and connectivity among modes makes a difference, and it uses that information to enable comprehensive coverage of wider economic benefits. TREDIS also provides views of economic impacts and benefits from alternative spatial, governmental and private sector perspectives. This is important because most public decisions are made by governmental agencies that represent specific spatial areas and constituencies.

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How TREDIS differs from C11?

Question: What are the differences between TREDIS and C11 in terms of measurements and output of market accessibility, reliability, and connectivity?

Answer:  The C11 tools expand upon the current Accessibility, Connectivity, and Reliability capabilities in TREDIS.

TREDIS uses a similar methodology to the C11 tools to calculate the Wider Economic Benefits. However it applies an industry elasticity factor since each industry responds differently to cost savings (Reliability) and productivity improvements (Accessibility and Connectivity). The C11 tools just provide a generalized productivity measure without regard to industry response.

In addition TREDIS accounts for allocation of benefits by including a “trip allocation” input to determine the % of trips internal, external, outbound, and inbound. The C11 tools do not include this capability.

Note: All of the C11 tools methodology is included in TREDIS 5.0l.
Note: The latest release of TREDIS now includes the C11 (also known as EconWorks) methodology.

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Is TREDIS a travel demand model?

Question: Is TREDIS a travel demand model or land use model?

Answer:  No. TREDIS is used in conjunction with a travel demand model or land use model. Outputs from those models can be inputs to TREDIS.