Phill Wheat

Professor Phill Wheat is an applied economist and econometrician at the Faculty of Environment, University of Leeds. He serves as Professor of Transport Econometrics at the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS), where he has worked since 2002. His expertise spans road and rail cost analysis, efficiency modeling, and regulatory economics.

• Education: PhD in Econometric Cost Analysis, MA in Transport Economics, BSc in Economics and Econometrics
• Key Roles: Deputy Director of ITS, Module Leader for Transport Econometrics, dissertation supervisor
• Research Themes: Transport cost modeling, econometric benchmarking, rail sector performance analysis, highway maintenance efficiency

His work combines applied econometric research with regulatory policy analysis, particularly in transport infrastructure. Notable projects include the CQC Efficiency Network for highway maintenance, econometric demand modeling for rail operators, and EU-funded SUSTRAIL research on sustainable rail freight. Phill actively supervises undergraduate and postgraduate economics dissertations and seeks PhD candidates in transport economics and infrastructure regulation.

Collaborations: Projects with Network Rail, Office of Rail and Road, Department for Transport, EPSRC, EU Framework Programmes. Key methodologies include stochastic frontier analysis, econometric demand modeling, and cost-benefit analysis.

Leadership: Deputy Head of School at ITS, project director for SUSTRAIL, and leader of rail work packages in EU-funded research.