Social Cost-Benefit Analysis and Evaluation Framework for Active Mobility and Road Safety in Buenos Aires, Argentina

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Buenos Aires City implemented new cycle lanes on two major Avenues (Corrientes and Córdoba) as part of an ongoing strategy to promote active mobility. Buenos Aires City needed a Social Cost-Benefit Analysis methodology to evaluate investments in infrastructure for cyclists, and Steer was hired to develop it with financing from the World Bank. 

The Steer team undertook a literature review and developed a Social Cost Benefit Analysis methodology based on existing research, particularly the Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) methodology (Götschi et al., 2020). The methodology was adjusted for the local context using local data for Argentina and Buenos Aires City. The tool evaluates four types of benefits: 

• the health benefits associated with the increased physical activity of people switching from motorized modes to cycling;
• road safety benefits due to changes in the rate of road crashes involving cyclists; 
• the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; and 
• travel time savings for people switching from walking to cycling.

A spreadsheet application tool was built and the methodology was applied to evaluate the Córdoba and Corrientes cycle lanes.  The results of evaluating the investment over 20 years showed a benefit-cost ratio of 5.7 (Morales Sarriera & Jakovcevic, 2022).  The positive impacts arose from health benefits (60%), travel time savings (28%), road safety benefits (9%), and GHG emissions reductions (3%). 

The team at the City of Buenos Aires positively evaluated the results of the study and the evaluation tool delivered by Steer, and the city has continued growing its network of cycle lanes as part of its strategy to promote sustainable mobility (Buenos Aires Ciudad, 2023).  In a recent interview, the professionals in charge of planning and implementing the cycle lane network said, “Today we have a network of more than 270 kilometres, and the goal is to reach 350” (Sanguinetti & Buzzi, 2022).

The World Bank team recently published an article based on the Steer study that offers further details of the literature review, the evaluation methodology and the results (Morales Sarriera & Jakovcevic, 2022). 

References

Buenos Aires Ciudad. (2023, September 25). La Ciudad presentó el Plan de Movilidad Sustentable 2030. https://buenosaires.gob.ar/noticias/la-ciudad-presento-el-plan-de-movilidad-sustentable-2030

Götschi, T., Kahlmeier, S., Castro, A., Brand, C., Cavill, N., Kelly, P., Lieb, C., Rojas-Rueda, D., Woodcock, J., & Racioppi, F. (2020). Integrated Impact Assessment of Active Travel: Expanding the Scope of the Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for Walking and Cycling. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(20), 7361. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17207361

Morales Sarriera, J., & Jakovcevic, A. (2022). Identifying and Quantifying the Economic Benefits of Bicycle Lanes. World Bank Group. https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/10f732bd97e07697ae4ff58355dad91a-0190022022/original/Mobility-and-Development-Spring-2022.pdf

Sanguinetti, C., & Buzzi, D. (2022, May 8). Habla la Ciudad: El presente y el futuro de la red de ciclovías de Buenos Aires (M. Avallone, Interviewer) [Interview]. https://biciclub.com/habla-la-ciudad-el-presente-y-el-futuro-de-la-red-de-ciclovias-de-buenos-aires-3/