The UK Department for Transport published a research report on 25 August 2026 titled Research: Uprating the freight value of travel time. The paper reviews evidence and appraisal approaches for how road freight travel time values should grow over time, the department says.
The report sets out a review of existing evidence and of methods used in appraisal to uprate the value placed on travel time for road freight. It concentrates on the means by which those values might be adjusted to reflect changing conditions over a period rather than proposing a single prescriptive figure.
According to the Department for Transport, the work is a methodological review rather than an outcomes-driven policy announcement. It considers the principles that underpin economic appraisal of freight time savings and the practical approaches used to apply growth or uprating through appraisal models.
The authors describe uprating as the process of adjusting the monetary value attached to travel time so that it remains representative when projected into the future. The review surveys evidence that has been used previously and examines how appraisal systems have incorporated uprating in practice.
Scope of the research
The research reports on literature and appraisal practice relevant to road freight travel time values and how those values evolve over time. It considers the different strands of evidence appraisal teams have relied upon and the options available to practitioners when selecting uprating approaches.
The Department’s summary frames the work as a resource for those responsible for transport appraisal, offering an overview of available evidence and common methods rather than setting a single national uprating policy. It is presented as a tool to inform decision-making on valuation assumptions used in cost–benefit and economic assessments.
What the review addresses for appraisal
The review looks at how appraisal approaches treat the growth of freight travel time values and the implications for long-term project appraisal. It identifies methods used to project changes in value over time and discusses how those methods are applied within existing appraisal frameworks.
By assembling evidence and appraisal approaches in one document, the Department intends to provide transparency about the options available to analysts when uprating freight travel time values. The report is positioned as a reference for appraisal teams considering how to handle value growth in project appraisals and policy assessments.
The Department for Transport’s publication is timely for teams reviewing transport appraisal assumptions and for stakeholders who rely on consistent valuation methods in long-term planning. It clarifies that the report is a review and resource rather than an instruction to adopt a single uprating path.
Readers of the report will find a consolidated examination of the evidence base and of practical appraisal techniques for uprating road freight travel time values. The Department’s summary and the report itself present material intended to support appraisal practice by making explicit the choices available when projecting the future value of freight time savings.
A short factual summary supplied with the publication highlights its central purpose: to review evidence and appraisal approaches for how road freight travel time values should grow over time. The publication date given by the Department is 25 August 2026.