2013 - India - Road User Costs for Road Projects in India

The economic prosperity of a country is strongly associated with the relative size and physical condition of its road network, which is the most important component of its transportation infrastructure. The rate at which a country’s economy grows is very closely linked to the rate at which the transport sector grows. In the process of economic analysis of highways, the road user cost plays a significant role. Large research has been carried out in India, from half century. Amongst the Road User Cost (RUC) models, Vehicle Operating Cost (VOC) models are the major component and are analytically complex in nature. The determination of VOC is a key element in evaluating the highway projects. The updation of VOC models are required for highway project appraisals, particularly for road maintenance. The determination of VOC is complicated and time consuming, as lots of data collection is required. With time, these VOC models become outdated. In the current paper, another method, Whole price index was used to update the vehicle operating cost. This method is very simple, easy and time saving. This updated VOC models can be used by various Highway engineers to evaluate the road projects on monetary basis.