In current transport appraisal practices, travel time is considered as wasted time, representing a disutility. Based on the view that unproductive travel time saved can be converted into productive use, business travel time is traditionally valued at labour costs. There is, however, increasing evidence that travel time is not always wasted. People often report positive utilities due to activities that can be conducted whilst travelling, for example, checking work emails or carrying out leisure activities such as reading. The scope and type of non-travel activities are likely to increase with modern technologies, including the use of self-driving vehicles in the future. The Roundtable considers the utility and disutility of time spent travelling, whether and how they should be measured and captured in the valuation of travel time. The discussion covers theory, evidence and application issues, including modelling and forecasting, appraisal methods and transport and land use policy implications.

ITF Secretary-General Young Tae Kim opened the Roundtable meeting, which gathered over 35 transport policy practitioners, transport modellers, academics and behavioural scientists from 15 countries. 

A Roundtable report will be issued summarising the discussions. This will include policy insights for consideration by transport policy-makers worldwide. Presentations and video records from the Roundtable will also be made available online. 

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Related information:

Theoretical and practical research on an estimation of time savings (ECMT Roundtable report No. 6)

Value of time (ECMT Roundtable report No. 30)

Time and Transport (ECMT Roundtable report No. 127)