CIVITAS DYN@MO cost-benefit analysis tool for cities to evaluate measures

Summary

This cost-benefit analysis (CBA) tool was developed by Tim Larsson, Lund University, for the CIVITAS DYN@MO project. The tool (an Excel spreadsheet) allows the user to input relatively little data about a sustainable urban transport measure and to obtain a cost-benefit ratio and net present value for the measure based on the monetised value of its costs and benefits.

It takes into account many different benefits including time, operating cost and accident savings, changes in air quality and noise. It uses monetised values of these benefits taken from Swedish and UK sources but adapted to take into account differences in purchasing power in different DYN@MO countries. However, if users have local values, they can include these in the spreadsheet if they wish but this is only recommended for expert users who are very familiar with how CBA works.

In addition to the tool, expalantory notes are available at http://tinyurl.com/CIVITAS-DYNAMO. They include the source data for a hypothetical CIVITAS measure typical of those for which you might wish to carry out a CBA. Users can test the tool by using the data on the first two pages. Afterwards, it is possible to check the right answer on pages 3, 4 and 5. This procedure allows users to better understand the features of this tool.