The following downloadable worksheets will help analysts organize and calculate data for a benefit/cost analysis. The Guidebook is intended to serve as a user reference with the worksheets. The descriptions below include links to appropriate chapters of the Guidebook. Use the Guidebook's left-hand navigation to navigate to the referenced sub-section.
Except where noted, all data that users must input (e.g., travel times by mode, capital costs) have initially been set to zero and should be replaced with local information. The error messages that appear in some of the calculated cells only indicate that some input data remains to be provided (it should not equal zero); the calculations are correct.
User Tip: These worksheets are intended to serve as templates, and each actual analysis is likely to require altering the worksheets to some degree. If you have Microsoft Excel® installed on your computer, clicking on the links below will open the worksheets in a new browser window. If you prefer to save the worksheet to your personal computer, simply right mouse click on the link, select "Save Target As", and enter your preferred directory location.
User
Cost Calculations - This worksheet helps the analyst assemble
the required data about travel activity for calculating direct
user benefits. Data inputs to the worksheet (e.g., estimated transit
ridership, travel speeds) may be obtained from local travel models
or the analyst's estimates of travel demand. Please refer to
Chapter 3 for the general purpose and framework for estimating
direct user costs, and detailed information regarding different
components of user costs (e.g., in-vehicle time, waiting time,
transit fares) for transit and autos and trucks. The chapter also
gives general guidance regarding travel demand forecasting.
Annual
Direct User Benefits - This worksheet uses the Basic Benefit
Calculation formula to convert changes in user costs and travel
volumes (by mode and time of day) to user benefits or consumer
surplus. Refer to
Table 3-17 for a sample calculation using data from an
example in the Guidebook.
Option
Value of Transit - This worksheet helps estimate the "option"
value of transit (i.e., the value of having transit available
for infrequent use).
Chapter 4 provides more information regarding the concept
of option value, the variables used in the calculation (e.g.,
average auto trip cost, volatility of auto costs, average
transit trip cost), and a sample calculation.
Environmental
Benefits (Costs) - This worksheet allows the user to prepare
a simplified estimate of costs for air, noise and water pollution
using average values (per VMT) presented in
Chapter 4 for a variety of vehicle types and facilities
(e.g., arterials, highways). For air pollution, Chapter 4
describes the basic steps/required inputs for using the MOBILE5
model to estimate costs. In the event that the analyst does
not have access to this model, the worksheet includes default
values (not included in the guidebook).
Transit
Capital and Operations Costs - This worksheet provides
a basic accounting framework to tabulate transit costs based
on topics discussed in
Chapter 5. Analysts can use data from their own transit
agency and/or national data to estimate these costs.
Parking
Costs Avoided - This worksheet helps the user estimate
parking costs following the methodology in
Chapter 5. These are parking costs that users do not pay
directly, but which are saved when parking users switch to
transit. Data to estimate these impacts may come from developers,
parking operators, and businesses.
Basic
Benefit-Cost Calculation - This worksheet provides a framework
to combine and summarize all monetized benefits and costs.
Please refer to
Chapter 2, which discusses the purpose of discounting
all benefits and costs, and
Chapter 9, which includes an example of discounting for
a hypothetical case study.
Property
Value Impacts - Analysts can use this worksheet to estimate
or test different levels of transit impacts on local property
values using findings from existing research and/or local
data. Refer to
Chapter 7 for a discussion of property value and other
economic development impacts, and Table
7-2 for estimated ranges of impacts based on national
studies of rail investments.
Construction
and Operations Funding Impacts - This worksheet can be
used to estimate the net economic output, labor income, and
employment impacts attributable to funding from outside the
project area. This analysis uses multiplier values that can
be obtained from input-output models such as IMPLAN or RIMS
II.
Chapter 7 provides the methodology for estimating these
impacts, and also general ranges for some multipliers (these
values should be refined with local data). Chapter
9 also includes an example of this type of analysis.