Toll Road Traffic And Revenue Forecasts

Toll roads, bridges and tunnels represent the most popular class of infrastructure attracting international private finance today. Many deals, however, expose financiers, insurers and other project counterparties to demand risk. This moves traffic and revenue forecasts centre-stage in terms of being able to understand and test the investment proposition - yet the forecasting process itself often remains a mystery. Additionally, there are frequent concerns about predictive reliability. Written specifically for credit analysts, investors and other professionals whose primary expertise lies outside transportation, this book lifts the lid on the 'black box' of traffic and revenue forecasting. The author, Robert Bain (ex-S&P and a civil engineer with 20+ years of forecasting experience) has prepared a straightforward guide which highlights key issues to watch for and suggests ways in which the forecasts can be analysed to improve transparency and investor understanding.

Demand and revenue forecasting for transport concessions has an inconsistent track record. There are several reasons for this: a possible optimism bias, the inherent uncertainty in any forecast, limited data and a poor choice of modelling tools. Therefore any better approach must acknowledge these constraints from the outset and be adapted to deal with revenue risk. This book addresses these issues on the basis of 20 years of international experience producing Traffic and Revenue projections for a range of transport concessions: Toll Roads, Managed Lanes, LRT, BRT, Metro and Rail projects with involvement of the private sector. It includes an additional chapter on Congestion Charging. The book is divided into three parts. Part I covers the context for the participation of the private sector and the requirements posed for demand forecasting. Part II is more technical and describes the strengths and limitations of the modelling tools used in both conventional and Traffic and Revenue forecasting models; it deals with issues like induced traffic, destination, mode and time of travel choice and, of course, discusses assignment in detail; willingness to pay is central to this part. Part III covers the practice of producing forecasts for different types of concessions: sound assumptions, modelling price and means of payment, growth models, treatment of congestion and travel time reliability, optimal pricing, annualisation, inflation and tariff escalation. This part also deals with the critical issue of future uncertainty with suggestions for peer reviews, sensitivity test, risk analysis and scenario planning. The book should be of interest to professionals working in procuring authorities preparing a transport concession, consortia bidding for such projects and financial specialists seeking to get a better understanding of the techniques used for Traffic and Revenue forecasting. Planners developing projects where price and revenue risk are important will also gain useful insights. The text contains a large number of tables and figures, all in colour, and suggestions on writing a good Final Report. A website, www.bettertandr.com, complements the book. About the author Dr. Luis (Pilo) Willumsen has 15 years of experience in transport teaching and research plus two decades producing traffic and revenue projections for more than 50 different private sector projects in over 30 countries. He is co-author of Modelling Transport, a Wiley text describing the state of the art in the field and now in its fourth edition; he has also made some helpful contributions to modelling and forecasting techniques. He is currently an independent consultant and a Visiting Professor at University College London.

"TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 722: Assessing Highway Tolling and Pricing Options and Impacts provides state departments of transportation (DOTs) and other transportation agencies with a decision-making framework and analytical tools that describe likely impacts on revenue generation and system performance resulting from instituting or modifying user-based fees or tolling on segments of their highway system. Volume 2: Travel Demand Forecasting Tools provides an in-depth examination of the various analytical tools for direct or adapted use that are available to help develop the forecasts of potential revenue, transportation demand, and congestion and system performance based on tolling or pricing changes. Volume 1: Decision-Making Framework includes information on a decision-making framework that may be applied to a variety of scenarios in order to understand the potential impacts of tolling and pricing on the performance of the transportation system, and on the potential to generate revenue to pay for system improvements"--Publication information.

MODELLING TRANSPORT Comprehensive Textbook Resource for Understanding Transport Modelling Modelling Transport provides unrivalled depth and breadth of coverage on the topic of transport modelling. Each topic is approached as a modelling exercise with discussion of the roles of theory, data, model specification, estimation, validation, and application. The authors present the state of the art and its practical application in a pedagogic manner, easily understandable to both students and practitioners. An accompanying website hosts a solutions manual. Sample topics and learning resources included in the work are as follows: State-of-the-art developments in the field of transport modelling, including new research and examples Factors to consider for better modelling and forecasting Information and analysis on dynamic assignment and micro-simulation and model design and specification Agent and Activity Based Modelling Modelling new modes and services Graduate students in transportation engineering and planning, transport economics, urban studies, and geography programs along with researchers and practitioners in the transportation and urban planning industry can use Modelling Transport as a comprehensive reference work for a wide array of topics pertaining to this field.

'Privately Financed Roads in Britain: A Policy Assessment' critically examines the role of private finance in the construction, operation, maintenance and management of modern highways. The focus is on the UK's Private Finance Initiative (PFI) yet many of the lessons learned retain a currency in the context of international public-private partnerships. Separate chapters cover: Public Policy Objectives; Key Project-Level Risks (construction and traffic); Value for Money and Public Sector Comparators; The Financial Architecture of Private Sector Road Operating Companies; Strengths and Weaknesses of the Privately-Financed Roads Model; Alternative Debt/Equity Structuring; and Containing Private Financing Costs.