This pioneering text provides a holistic approach to decisionmaking in transportation project development and programming, whichcan help transportation professionals to optimize their investmentchoices. The authors present a proven set of methodologies forevaluating transportation projects that ensures that all costs andimpacts are taken into consideration. The text's logical organization gets readers started with asolid foundation in basic principles and then progressively buildson that foundation. Topics covered include: Developing performance measures for evaluation, estimatingtravel demand, and costing transportation projects Performing an economic efficiency evaluation that accounts forsuch factors as travel time, safety, and vehicle operatingcosts Evaluating a project's impact on economic development and landuse as well as its impact on society and culture Assessing a project's environmental impact, including airquality, noise, ecology, water resources, and aesthetics Evaluating alternative projects on the basis of multipleperformance criteria Programming transportation investments so that resources can beoptimally allocated to meet facility-specific and system-widegoals Each chapter begins with basic definitions and concepts followedby a methodology for impact assessment. Relevant legislation isdiscussed and available software for performing evaluations ispresented. At the end of each chapter, readers are providedresources for detailed investigation of particular topics. Theseinclude Internet sites and publications of international anddomestic agencies and research institutions. The authors alsoprovide a companion Web site that offers updates, data foranalysis, and case histories of project evaluation and decisionmaking. Given that billions of dollars are spent each year ontransportation systems in the United States alone, and that thereis a need for thorough and rational evaluation and decision makingfor cost-effective system preservation and improvement, this textshould be on the desks of all transportation planners, engineers,and educators. With exercises in every chapter, this text is anideal coursebook for the subject of transportation systems analysisand evaluation.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) wrote this guide to help citizens understand how decisions are made at the local, State, and national levels, in the transportation planning process.

An integrated approach is presented for systematically incorporating social, economic, and environmental factors into transportation planning and decision making. The timely identification is stressed of the nature, magnitude, and incidence of these potential factors so that in all phases of transportation planning, alternatives may be developed that avoid or minimize adverse effects and that take full advantage of opportunities to increase benefits. The early, effective, knowledgeable involvement of the public to clarify issues and to aid in the development and evaluation of proposals in emphasized, and the effective use is stressed of expertise and resources both of the transportation agency and of other agencies with maximum flexibility and openess. Objectives for all phases of a transportation planning and design process are listed, a 4-phase study strategy is proposed, and the roles of the transportation professional are reviewed.