WHY VALUE TRAVEL TIME? THE CASE AGAINST.

Changes, usually savings, in travel time are a major output of most highway schemes. For the purpose of project evaluation these changes must be compared with other impacts, including those to which a definite cost can be allocated. It has been conventional practice, therefore, to attempt to place a monetary value on travel time savings in order to improve perception of the trade-off implied by an evaluation decision. This Paper seeks to present an alternative case, that the valuation of travel time is unnecessary, that it is inconsistent with current evaluation procedures and that in many cases it can even be unhelpful.