Intelligent Transportation Systems : Capturing the socio-economic value of uncertain and flexible investments

The aim of this study is to evaluate an alternative socio-economical valuation method (i.e., Hybrid Real Options, HRO) to the traditional benefit cost method (CBA) for the evaluation of investments within Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The proposed alternative method will be evaluated by the use of a case study where it is applied and compared to the results of the traditional method. The case study evaluates the socio-economical effects of an investment in Variable Speed Limits along a section of the motorway E18. The results of the study shows that the choice of evaluation methods affects both the investment strategy and the estimated socio-economical benefits of the investment. Using the HRO method yields twice as high socio-economical benefits compared to the CBA method. The main reason for this being that HRO account for risk and uncertainties wheras CBA only accounts for the most probable outcome of the investment. The choice of method is a complex task that involves many stakeholders however a more critical approach to the choice of socio-economical evaluation method is advocated based on the results of this study