Improving Reliability on Surface Transport Networks

7 IMPROVING RELIABILITY ON SURFACE TRANSPORT NETWORKS © OECD/ITF 2010 ABSTRACT ITRD NUMBER E145017 Supply chains are, more than ever underpinned by global and, often, just-in-time production and distribution systems. This complexity is echoed in passenger movements, both for business and social purposes. These changing patterns have increased the importance of keeping to schedules. This increases the focus on transport reliability. This report examines the extent to which appropriate levels of transport reliability are delivered in each of the major ITF regions. It provides policy makers with a framework for understanding reliability issues and for designing reliability management policies. The report also reviews policies in ITF/OECD countries showing that few countries explicitly incorporate reliability into transport policy making. There are very few cases where reliability is formally incorporated into the cost-benefit assessment. Because there generally is no direct market for reliability, cost-benefit assessment needs to be used to determine appropriate levels of reliability and to select cost-effective policies to manage reliability. The report has made significant progress in identifying methodology for incorporating improvements in reliability into project and policy evaluation, while exploring the pitfalls that need to be avoided. A review of existing reliability indicators suggests that governments have started monitoring and targeting reliability. There is a clear dichotomy in performance indicators: indicators of network quality and indicators of what the user experiences. Therefore, reliability targets need to be applied with caution, distinguishing between the network operator and the user perspective. A wide range of policy instruments is available to manage reliability. The report presents four principal policy options available to manage reliability: physical expansion of capacity, better management of capacity, pricing mechanisms to deliver a market for reliability and information systems intended to mitigate the adverse consequences of unreliability. Finally, the report highlights the increased importance of reliability noting that reliability needs policy prominence such as is traditionally given to congestion. Subjects: Traffic and transport planning (72); Economics and administration (10).