Enhancing the economic benefit assessment of roadway investment through the application of value of time by trip length

This study analyzes how the benefit assessment of roadway investment projects changes when VOT is applied according to trip length. In the theoretical study of VOT variation with respect to trip length, it was found that VOT could be changed by various effects while the direction could not be determined. Yet, the study was able to summarize that most of the empirical studies demonstrate a phenomenon of an increase in trip length. Based on the survey results in Korea, this study compares the case of applying VOT by trip length, the case of using the existing method of fixed VOT, and the results of the benefit calculation. The comparison indicates that applying the differentiated VOT by trip length tends to increase the benefit, however, the benefit yielded is not always higher than applying the fixed VOT, due to the different spatial distributions of travel demand associated with each project.