The free MBCA tool is a social benefit-cost calculator – which means it compares project costs with a monetary valuation of changes in travel time, travel cost, safety, air pollution and reliability. Benefit-cost analysis reflects “first-order” impacts of transportation system changes; it does not reflect “wider economic impacts” or reflect “economic feasibility” considerations.

MBCA is one of five types of economic analysis included in the full TREDIS Economics Suite. The other four types of economic analysis - which can be of equal or greater concern – are Economic Impact Analysis (assessing wider economic effects on productivity, regional employment, income and GDP), Public-Private Economic Feasibility (assessing cash flow effects), Fiscal Impact Analysis (assessing net tax revenue effects) and Freight Flow Analysis (assessing regional freight and trade flow changes).

The MBCA benefit-cost calculator does not depend on information regarding the economy of study area. However, the other types of economic analysis do require specification of a study area, and their results also depend on proprietary information regarding the structure of specified area economy and its taxation systems. They are available via a subscription fee.