Evaluating Alternative Operations Strategies to Improve Travel Time ...

SHRP 2 L11: Final Appendices
Table B.7 - Value of Time from the FHWA Highway Economic Requirements System (2008
dollars)
User Group
Small
Auto
Medium
Auto
4-Tire
Truck
6-Tire
Truck
Truck 3-4
Axle
4-Axle
Combination
Business Travel
Value per Person $29.20 $29.20 $29.20 $23.30 $23.30 $23.30 $23.30
Average Vehicle
1.43 1.43 1.43 1.05 1.00 1.12 1.12
Occupancy
Vehicle Depreciation $1.40 $1.87 $2.45 $3.41 $9.22 $8.25 $7.93
Inventory $0.79 $0.79
Business Travel Value
per Vehicle
$43.16 $43.62 $44.20 $27.88 $32.52 $34.35 $34.02
Personal Travel
Value per Person $12.55 $12.55 $12.55
Average Occupancy 1.43 1.43 1.43
Percent Personal 89% 89% 75%
Personal Travel Value
per Vehicle-Hour
$17.95 $17.95 $17.95
5-Axle
Combination
Average Value per
$20.72 $20.77 $24.51 $27.88 $32.52 $35.14 $34.82
Vehicle-Hour
Source: Highway Economic Requirements System, HERS-ST v2 Technical Report, converted to 2008 dollars using U.S. DOT
Guidance for Value per Person and HERS cost indexes for other cost items.
HERS computes the inventory costs for 4- and 5-axle combination trucks by applying an hourly
discount rate to the average payload value. The payload value is estimated by the average payload
weight multiplied by the average shipment value—expressed in dollars per pound for truck
shipments. Although the payload for a 4-axle combination truck would be lower than the payload
for a 5-axle combination truck, the value of the commodity shipped may be higher. Thus, the
inventory costs for these two truck configuration classes are set to the same value. The inventory
costs for lighter trucks (3-4 axle and 6-tire trucks) are assumed to be negligible and personal
vehicles are assumed not to transport goods. The HERS inventory costs do not include spoilage
costs, damage, or inventory depreciation—only the cost of holding the inventory during transport
(HERS 2002, p. 5-5). Vehicle depreciation costs are the average dollar value that a vehicle’s value
declines for each hour of use, adjusted so that mileage-based usage is accounted for separately in
the vehicle operating costs.
The HERS value-of-time method for trucks has been adopted for use in the FHWAs Freight
Logistics Reorganization Benefits Estimation Tool, with modifications made to the inventory-cost
method. In the Freight Logistics tool, the analyst can specify up to five commodities and their
value and relative share of freight moving through the corridor. Total inventory cost is then the
weighted average reflecting the mix of commodities shipped on the particular roadway.
The U.S. DOT Guidance on the value of time is given as a percentage of the wage rate per personhour.
The dollar value per person-hour can be converted to value per vehicle-hour by multiplying
the value per person-hour by the average vehicle occupancy (AVO) for each user group. Data from
the 1995 National Household Travel Survey is used for the passenger travel AVO assumption used
in the HERS value-of-time estimates. The AVO for the 4-axle and 5+axle combination trucks is
based on a study of team drivers. The six-tire truck and 3-4 axle truck AVOs are assumed values.
While the value-of-time estimates found in the literature take on a range of values, there is a clear
relationship between the passenger value of time and wage rate. Several studies also find that the
value of time during peak periods is higher than during off-peak periods. The trip purpose,
DETERMINING THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF IMPROVING TRAVEL-TIME RELIABILITY Page B-26