EFECT – evaluation framework of environmental impacts and costs of transport initiatives

EFECT is a generalised methodological framework for evaluating the impacts resulting from transportation projects with a specific orientation to environmental impacts. The innovative aspect of the methodological framework is the combination of Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) with Cost–Benefit Analysis (CBA) methods to come up with an overall assessment of transport initiatives' impacts over different geographical regions and time periods. Thus, it addresses both spatial and time impacts of transportation networks for all modes. The framework comprises four steps: structuring, weighting, rating, and exploring. Uncertainty is explicitly treated in the framework through fuzzy sets or, indirectly, through sensitivity testing. EFECT, using an additive function combining MCA and CBA methods, provides simplicity and intuitive understanding of results. This allows the use of either a core approach with a basic set of criteria and weights, or the application of a more detailed evaluation, when needed. The way EFECT is applied and the results produced are presented through a case-study example.