[holding answer 12 May 2008]: The methodology recommended in the “New Approach To Appraisal” (NATA) does not treat a decision by an individual to leave his or her vehicle at home and use public transport as a disbenefit.
Instead, an assumption of appraisal is that a decision of this sort largely reflects the individual comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the form of transport they choose, in terms of journey time, journey costs and, in some circumstances, measures of other journey characteristics such as crowding, and judging there to be an overall ‘benefit’ through changing from one mode to another.
However, costs and benefits under the NATA methodology are not assessed only from the view of the transport user as there may be further impacts on transport providers, the Government, wider society or the environment. NATA seeks to ensure that all impacts are taken into account to give a complete picture.