EVALUATION AND COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS: PUBLIC TRANSPORT SMARTCARD IN THE NETHERLANDS

In the Netherlands, public transport plays an important role to cater forthe travel demands of the public. The smartcard technology is seen as an instrument to facilitate the liberalisation of the market and to provide up-to-date management information for planning and marketing. In 1998, operators jointly agreed to develop a national smartcard ticketing system. To guide the development and implementation of the technology nationwide, theDutch Transport Ministry commissioned a Cost-Benefit Study. The aim was to determine the potential socio-economic benefits and possible costs from the community's point of view. The study examined not only the total effects but also appraised the differential impacts on different groups of stakeholders under various scenarios. To ensure robustness, a set of sensitivity analyses was undertaken. The study identified and monetized the costs and benefits in a structured and transparent manner. The results indicated that the project would have a wide range of benefits. When the benefits were taken together under plausible assumptions, total social benefits wouldexceed total project costs. For the covering abstract see ITRD E134653.