IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transa/v46y2012i2p368-377.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On the income elasticity of the value of travel time

Author

Listed:
  • Börjesson, Maria
  • Fosgerau, Mogens
  • Algers, Staffan

Abstract

Transport infrastructure is long-term and in appraisal it is necessary to value travel time savings for future years. This requires knowing how the value of time (VTT) will develop over time as incomes grow. This paper investigates if the cross-sectional income elasticity of the VTT is equal to inter-temporal income elasticity. The study is based on two identical stated choice experiments conducted with a 13year interval. Results indicate that the relationship between income and the VTT in the cross-section has remained unchanged over time. As a consequence, the inter-temporal income elasticity of the VTT can be predicted based on cross-sectional income elasticity. However, the income elasticity of the VTT is not a constant but increases with income. For this reason, the average income elasticity of the VTT in the cross-sections has increased between the two survey years and can be expected to increase further over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Börjesson, Maria & Fosgerau, Mogens & Algers, Staffan, 2012. "On the income elasticity of the value of travel time," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 368-377.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:46:y:2012:i:2:p:368-377
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2011.10.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856411001613
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tra.2011.10.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brownstone, David & Ghosh, Arindam & Golob, Thomas F. & Kazimi, Camilla & Van Amelsfort, Dirk, 2003. "Drivers' willingness-to-pay to reduce travel time: evidence from the San Diego I-15 congestion pricing project," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 373-387, May.
    2. Brownstone, David & Small, Kenneth A., 2005. "Valuing time and reliability: assessing the evidence from road pricing demonstrations," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 279-293, May.
    3. Evans, Alan W, 1972. "On the Theory of the Valuation and Allocation of Time," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 19(1), pages 1-17, February.
    4. David A. Hensher, 2001. "Measurement of the Valuation of Travel Time Savings," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 35(1), pages 71-98, January.
    5. Fosgerau, Mogens & Bierlaire, Michel, 2007. "A practical test for the choice of mixing distribution in discrete choice models," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 41(7), pages 784-794, August.
    6. Wardman, Mark, 2004. "Public transport values of time," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 363-377, October.
    7. Fosgerau, Mogens, 2006. "Investigating the distribution of the value of travel time savings," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 688-707, September.
    8. DeSerpa, A C, 1971. "A Theory of the Economics of Time," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 81(324), pages 828-846, December.
    9. Jiang, Meilan & Morikawa, Takayuki, 2004. "Theoretical analysis on the variation of value of travel time savings," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 551-571, October.
    10. Mackie, P.J. & Jara-Díaz, S. & Fowkes, A.S., 0. "The value of travel time savings in evaluation," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 91-106, April.
    11. Wardman, Mark, 0. "A review of British evidence on time and service quality valuations," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 107-128, April.
    12. Shires, J.D. & de Jong, G.C., 2009. "An international meta-analysis of values of travel time savings," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 315-325, November.
    13. Abrantes, Pedro A.L. & Wardman, Mark R., 2011. "Meta-analysis of UK values of travel time: An update," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 1-17, January.
    14. Lars Hultkrantz & Reza Mortazavi, 2001. "Anomalies in the Value of Travel-Time Changes," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 35(2), pages 285-299, May.
    15. Mogens Fosgerau, 2005. "Unit income elasticity of the value of travel time savings," Urban/Regional 0508007, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Börjesson, Maria & Eliasson, Jonas, 2014. "Experiences from the Swedish Value of Time study," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 144-158.
    2. Small, Kenneth A., 2012. "Valuation of travel time," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 2-14.
    3. Fosgerau, Mogens, 2007. "Using nonparametrics to specify a model to measure the value of travel time," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 41(9), pages 842-856, November.
    4. C. Angelo Guevara, 2017. "Mode-valued differences of in-vehicle travel time Savings," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(5), pages 977-997, September.
    5. Bouscasse, Hélène & de Lapparent, Matthieu, 2019. "Perceived comfort and values of travel time savings in the Rhône-Alpes Region," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 370-387.
    6. Binsuwadan, Jawaher & Wardman, Mark & de Jong, Gerard & Batley, Richard & Wheat, Phill, 2023. "The income elasticity of the value of travel time savings: A meta-analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 126-136.
    7. Jan-Erik Swärdh & Staffan Algers, 2016. "Willingness to accept commuting time within the household: stated preference evidence," Transportation, Springer, vol. 43(2), pages 219-241, March.
    8. Maria Börjesson, 2014. "Inter-temporal variation in the travel time and travel cost parameters of transport models," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 377-396, March.
    9. Kilkki, Kalevi & Hämmäinen, Heikki, 2019. "Value of Time in the Context of Communications Services," 30th European Regional ITS Conference, Helsinki 2019 205189, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    10. Carrion, Carlos & Levinson, David, 2012. "Value of travel time reliability: A review of current evidence," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 720-741.
    11. Stephane Hess & Andrew Daly & Maria Börjesson, 2020. "A critical appraisal of the use of simple time-money trade-offs for appraisal value of travel time measures," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 1541-1570, June.
    12. Steimetz, Seiji S.C., 2008. "Defensive driving and the external costs of accidents and travel delays," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 42(9), pages 703-724, November.
    13. Börjesson, Maria & Fosgerau, Mogens & Algers, Staffan, 2012. "Catching the tail: Empirical identification of the distribution of the value of travel time," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 378-391.
    14. Schmid, Basil & Molloy, Joseph & Peer, Stefanie & Jokubauskaite, Simona & Aschauer, Florian & Hössinger, Reinhard & Gerike, Regine & Jara-Diaz, Sergio R. & Axhausen, Kay W., 2021. "The value of travel time savings and the value of leisure in Zurich: Estimation, decomposition and policy implications," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 186-215.
    15. Peer, Stefanie & Knockaert, Jasper & Koster, Paul & Verhoef, Erik T., 2014. "Over-reporting vs. overreacting: Commuters’ perceptions of travel times," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 476-494.
    16. Nicanor R. Roxas & Alexis M. Fillone, 2016. "Establishing value of time for the inter-island passenger transport of the Western Visayas region, Philippines," Transportation, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 661-676, July.
    17. De Borger, Bruno & Fosgerau, Mogens, 2008. "The trade-off between money and travel time: A test of the theory of reference-dependent preferences," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 101-115, July.
    18. Román, Concepción & Martín, Juan Carlos & Espino, Raquel & Cherchi, Elisabetta & Ortúzar, Juan de Dios & Rizzi, Luis Ignacio & González, Rosa Marina & Amador, Francisco Javier, 2014. "Valuation of travel time savings for intercity travel: The Madrid-Barcelona corridor," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 105-117.
    19. Maria Börjesson & Marco Kouwenhoven & Gerard Jong & Andrew Daly, 2023. "Can repeated surveys reveal the variation of the value of travel time over time?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 245-284, February.
    20. Jawaher Binsuwadan & Gerard De Jong & Richard Batley & Phill Wheat, 2022. "The value of travel time savings in freight transport: a meta-analysis," Transportation, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 1183-1209, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:46:y:2012:i:2:p:368-377. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/547/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.