Social Benefit-Cost Analysis for Electric BRTS in Ahmedabad

This research aims to develop a social benefit-cost analysis model for the feasibility assessment of the proposed electric bus rapid transit system project in Ahmedabad, India. An attempt has been made to indicate that the electric bus locomotion, which has a high potential for improving environmental impact can be considered sustainable for urban conglomeration. The realization of sustainable transportation projects is frequently hampered due to the high weightage associated with the financial dimension and somewhat negligence of environmental and social dimensions of the transportation system in the project appraisal process. Therefore, a quantitative analysis of the electric bus transportation system in an urban context was conducted, considering the three major dimensions of sustainability such as economic, environmental, and social. The evaluation was carried out using the present worth analysis of various benefits and costs associated with the implementation of the electric bus rapid transit system in the city. The outcome, as indicated by the value of social benefit-cost ratio, illustrates that such a project can be positively justified from the point of view of the benefits gained by the society as well as profitable returns and value addition of infrastructure investment in the long run. The research contributes by validating that social benefit-cost analysis can be used to evaluate sustainable transportation system appraisals in order to make their realization more favorable.