ISSUES IN THE EVALUATION OF METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES

This paper was prepared as part of a study by the Urban Institute to improve the cost-estimation methods and evaluation procedures for the Urban Mass Transportation Administration alternatives analysis process. Several important issues related to evaluation of alternatives are discussed. They include problems and advantages of several analytical evaluation techniques such as cost- benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and project scoring. Issues in evaluating user benefits are also discussed. Much of the complexity in the evaluation of alternatives comes from the different interests or groups that must be involved and the differences between the federal and local viewpoints. This paper is not a handbook on evaluation and assumes a basic knowledge of analytical evaluation techniques. (AUTHOR)