Traffic models and traveler benefit calculation in cost benefit analysis [Modeles de trafic et evaluation des avantages dans le calcul economique]
Transport infrastructure projects are based on ex ante cost benefit analysis. Traveler surplus often represent a large part of a project's global benefit. The assessment of these traveler benefits, or surplus, as recommended in official French guidelines, is based on average benefits for a project. But in fact, benefits are widely distributed among individual travelers and discreet choice models enable us to have access to this distribution. The aim of this paper is to show that using the surplus given by discreet choice models leads to higher amounts of benefits compared to "classical" methods when the project has a high cost for users. The example of tolled highways is simulated in the paper. Pros and cons of the different methods are given before suggesting recommendations.