Estimating the Cost of Time in Justifying Transport Projects

The article is devoted to the study of the cost of travel time in the context of the formation of transport policy in Russia in terms of passenger transportation. Various approaches to assessing the value of time are considered. The calculations use the generally accepted approach in international practice, based on “willingness to pay.” To obtain the estimates, the results of sociological surveys conducted in four Russian cities (Barnaul, Kostroma, Cheboksary, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk) in 2019–2023 with the participation of 2000 respondents were used. Based on the results of calculations using multinomial regression, the average cost of travel time was estimated at 10.76 rubles per minute. The article also examines the influence of various factors (gender, age, income, and type of activity) on the sensitivity of respondents’ behavior to changes in the duration and cost of a trip. Diminishing returns to travel time savings have been identified. The data obtained can be used to justify investments in transport projects and develop transport policies that take into account the differences in preferences of different population groups.