What is a standardized assessment and can I view the results?
On the one hand, a standardized assessment answers the important question of whether a project makes economic sense. Economically viable means that the costs and benefits of a project are considered for the general public - i.e. not only the consequences for individual groups such as residents or commuters, but also, for example, environmental consequences that affect everyone. On the other hand, the standardized assessment is the basis for the City of Bonn to apply for funding from the state and federal government under the Municipal Transport Financing Act (GVFG) to finance the infrastructure.
The funding bodies involved (Federal Ministry of Transport, NRW State Ministry of Transport and Zweckverband Nahverkehr Rheinland) reviewed the "Report on the preliminary results of the Standardized Assessment" and released it at the beginning of February 2022.
Following the 2017 feasibility study, the council majority commissioned the city administration to commission a cost-benefit analysis for the cable car. In consultation with the state and federal government, a so-called standardized assessment was carried out for the first time for a cable car project as part of the methodology of this complex study - cost and value estimates for an innovative cable car system had to be supplemented based on empirical values. As part of the formal procedure, all parties involved from the federal and state governments and the Rhineland Public Transport Authority (NVR) have been in constant consultation. The cable car-specific approaches are explained in more detail in the results report.
Transparent basis for decision-making
Standardized assessments have been used for decades for investments in transport routes in local public transport in order to make the economic efficiency of different investment measures comparable for funding bodies. The result provides a transparent basis for decision-making. Two particularly important questions are answered using this procedure:
- Benefit-cost analysis: Is the project advantageous in macroeconomic terms, does the economic benefit exceed the costs? If this is the case, it is eligible for funding and the city could then apply for state and federal funding.
- Follow-up cost calculation: What financial impact will the project have in the future from a business perspective for the public transport authority (City of Bonn) and the operator of the cable car?
The preliminary results of this study are now available: The project makes economic sense and is therefore worthy of funding.
The prerequisite for funding is that the benefit-cost ratio is balanced, i.e. the calculated value is at least 1 (or greater). Based on the current cost calculation, the calculated benefit-cost ratio is 1.6, which means that every euro invested is offset by an economic benefit of 1.60 euros.
The costs of construction projects often increase as planning progresses. In order to take account of substantial price increases that could arise during further planning, a 30 percent cost buffer was therefore applied to the infrastructure costs. This is stipulated in the procedural instructions.
Thefollow-up cost calculation shows the financial impact after construction of the cable car. This is because the City of Bonn as the responsible body and Stadtwerke Bonn GmbH as the potential operator need certainty that the follow-up costs can be financed in the long term. The result of this calculation is: "The project is not expected to overstretch the capacity of the City of Bonn in the long term."
This process was carried out by an independent engineering firm. The results were bindingly coordinated with the responsible transport ministries of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal government as well as the Zweckverband Nahverkehr Rheinland (NVR) as the funding provider and approval authority in the network area.
The members of the Committee for Mobility and Transport were given the following presentation (Spiekermann Ingenieure) to explain the process and the calculation steps leading up to the provisional positive result in November 2021 in more detail:
Why is the result of the standardized assessment considered "preliminary"?
The fact that the result of the standardized assessment is currently considered "preliminary" is due to the legally prescribed procedure for this investigation. The Standardized Assessment calculates at an early planning stage whether a project is eligible for funding. Without this classification, the city of Bonn would not continue planning the project. The report and the result only become "final" when the city actually applies for funding. This will only take place after the planning approval procedure, when building permission for the cable car has been granted. The costs will then be reassessed and included in the final result. In order to avert changes to the very good result of the benefit-cost calculation in advance, a possible 30% cost increase is already included in the procedure for the "preliminary result" of the standardized assessment.
Reason: How many vehicles drive up and down Robert-Koch-Straße every day?
Numerous existing traffic data was used for the standardized assessment. Traffic counts on Robert-Koch-Straße have shown that traffic there has increased significantly: in 2013, 12,500 vehicles were counted on the route, in 2017 it was already 14,500. Details on the passenger calculations can be found in the "Report on the preliminary results of the standardized assessment".
How has the planning changed since the feasibility study?
The planning of the route on which the feasibility study was based has since been examined in depth and revised by a renowned specialist cable car planning office. Numerous comments from citizens were also taken into account and the planning was modified:
- A new location was chosen for the terminus in the western area of the UKB site.
- The pillar location on the Venusberg slope was moved to the vicinity of the Auenbrugger Haus. No support is planned in the middle of the slope.
- The support planned at the foot of the Venusberg slope in the area of the wetland biotope was omitted due to a change in cable routing. The biotope will not be affected.
- Any impact on the playground by a support structure should be limited to the edge area as far as possible so that the playground can be preserved as far as possible.
- The station at Loki-Schmidt-Platz was moved towards the road infrastructure/stops.
- The pillar location at the Urstadtstraße/Kessenicher Straße intersection will be moved to the roadside area of Urstadtstraße (currently parking area on the roadside).
- The pillar location on the HARIBO site will be removed.
- The column location in the schoolyard of the Erich-Kästner-Schule has been moved to the edge.
- The station at the DB stop UN Campus was moved towards the parking garage.
- The support structure in the area of the Trajekt junction is no longer planned in the area of the traffic circle.
- The station in the Rheinaue has been relocated near the Post Tower.
Further detailed planning can only be carried out together with a cable car manufacturer at a later planning stage.
How does a planning approval procedure for a cable car work?
Once the political decision has been taken, further preliminary reports - for example on the environmental impact and the subsoil - must be commissioned for the cable car. Only then will the planning be further detailed and the cable car installation put out to tender as a so-called "functional tender".
In the case of the cable car, there is a special feature: for planning approval (in accordance with Section 3 SeilbG NRW), the executing manufacturer must be determined in advance following a tender and provide all documents relating to the cable car technology. This is because every ropeway is unique and every ropeway manufacturer works with an exclusive, company-specific modular system.
In the invitation to tender for the bidders, the client must specify what a manufacturer must adhere to (route layout, size of stations, connection to local public transport, etc.). Expert opinions and preliminary plans must then be adapted to the specifications of the respective manufacturer and made more precise. Only then can system-specific plans and reports be completed down to the last detail - for example on the ropeway corridor, support locations, support heights, ropeway buildings, the ropeway's operating and maintenance concept or noise forecasts.
Once all the necessary expert reports have been submitted and the necessary planning maturity has been reached, the legally required planning approval procedure begins. This means that the plan to build a cable car is submitted to the responsible authority, the district government. This checks whether all expert opinions comply with the applicable regulations.
In this procedure, all citizens and in particular those affected can raise their objections to the final implementation plan. The district government must then weigh these up against the overall benefits. If a so-called planning approval decision is issued at the end of this process, this is comparable to a building permit for a private construction project. The cable car can be built.
Has the "monument suitability" of the Rheinaue area been checked?
The project is known in principle to the relevant monument authorities, but is still too vague at the current planning stage to enter into an in-depth examination of the monument. The relevant specialist departments of the city administration are in constant contact.
Was consent obtained from the planner of the Rheinaue?
Approval has not yet been granted, but the city has already contacted him and is in discussions. In order to obtain formal approval, detailed plans for the construction of the cable car must be available. These issues will be clarified later as part of the planning approval process.
The Beuel district council has commissioned the administration to examine whether the cable car can be extended on the right bank of the Rhine. Is there already a result?
The Beuel district council would like to know whether the cable car can be extended via Ramersdorf to Holtdorf. This is to be examined by the city administration.
The contract to examine the potential and technical feasibility of a cable car on the right bank of the Rhine has been awarded to two external planning offices and is currently being processed. The results of the study will be presented to the political committees after the 2023 summer break.