Summary of the impact

Research undertaken by the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) at the University of Leeds from 1997 to 2013 has played a key role in developing the methods and evidence base for demand forecasting and economic appraisal in transport. The primary impact of this research has been changes to official guidance Manuals, which are prescribed to scheme promoters, operators, consultants and other agents. In applying these Manuals, a secondary research impact has been to improve the quality of transport decision-making and Value for Money (VfM) of public expenditure. Against this background, ITS Leeds research has achieved the following impacts throughout the period 2008 to 2013 (and ongoing):

• The UK Department for Transport's WebTAG appraisal guidelines have specified monetary valuations of travel time savings and traffic noise directly from our research.
• The UK rail sector's Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook, which is the industry Manual, has specified key parameter values directly from our econometric and review work.
• Extending the reach of the impacts from the UK to worldwide, the ITS Leeds research has also been exploited in the appraisal processes of the World Bank and European Commission.