Operating and maintenance costs should include the annually recurring costs incurred by the public sector in running and maintaining the option considered. Again, this is most likely to be a significant issue in the case of roads projects rather than public transport projects. Where new road capacity is provided, provision must be made for the additional maintenance costs of the infrastructure in comparison to the do-minimum scenario.
Public sector operating costs will not always be confined to roads options, however. For example, road user charging can involve significant operating and collection costs. Also, where options (e.g. new parking policies, road user charging, and bus lanes) include significant changes in the level of enforcement, these should be taken into account.
In the SPT area and, to a lesser extent, other areas, the public sector may also be directly responsible for providing passenger information and other services and facilities, e.g. car parks. In such cases, additional costs will fall under public sector operating costs. However, these costs may be excluded from the appraisal if changes in costs are likely to be insignificant.
As for investment costs, operating costs should be recorded in the AST as negative amounts.
