What type of road pricing scheme might appeal to politicians? Viewpoints on the challenge in gaining the citizen and public servant vote by staging reform

The greatest hurdle facing road pricing reform is political commitment. With rare exception, efforts to introduce significant reform in road pricing, aimed at raising sufficient revenue to ensure that road investment and ongoing maintenance is secured, without an additional impost to users above current outlays, while at the same time reducing traffic congestion, has fallen largely on politically non-supportive ears. The big challenge is to convince politicians (and their advisers) that it is possible to reform road pricing so that users are made better off (at least the great majority) in terms of time spent travelling and monies outlaid, and that government secures growing levels of revenue, but with at least some funds being used to improve public transport and the existing road network. This paper identifies the major issues that make much of the academic research into road pricing somewhat limited in terms of achieving real change. Staging reform is an appealing way forward, but ensuring the order and timing of events to secure progress is the big challenge. We offer some suggestions, including some ideas on new language designed to increase the level of buy in, and recognise that progress through action will require compromises in respect of an ‘ideal’ economically efficient pricing reform agenda.     

Highway pricing and capacity choice in a road network under a build–operate–transfer scheme

It is often argued lately that the private sector should be allowed to build and operate roads in a transportation network at its own expense, in return it should receive the revenue from road toll charge within some years, and then these roads will be transferred to the government. This type of build–operate–transfer (B–O–T) projects is currently fashionable worldwide, especially for developing countries short of funds for road construction. One of the important issues concerning a highway B–O–T project is the selection of the capacity and toll charge of the new road and the evaluation of the relevant benefits to the private investor, the road users and the whole society under various market conditions. This paper deals with the selection and evaluation of a highway project under such a B–O–T scheme. For a given road network with elastic demand, mathematical models are proposed to investigate the feasibility of a candidate project and ascertain the optimal capacity and level of toll charge of the new highway. The response of road users to the new B–O–T project is explicitly considered. The characteristic of the problem is illustrated graphically with a numerical example.     

A model of traffic dispersion from a congested road

The study of traffic flow dynamics is developed by defining and clarifying traffic divergence, continuity, congestion and dispersion. Velocity potential is introduced as a gravity function generated by the interaction of two or more motorists occupying neighbouring points in space and describes interference to continuous traffic flow. The relationship between the potential function and carrying capacity is developed and dispersion, when considered as a random walk, satisfies a diffusion equation. A model of traffic dispersion along a maximum congested road in space and time is presented as eigenfunctions of the velocity potential. This suggests that traffic can be dispersed by a series of quantum steps. A probability density function is introduced to define the probability of locating a motorist in a congestion zone.     

Tackling traffic congestion in Accra,Ghana: A road user's perspective

A fast emerging component of the urban transportation problem in cities of the Third World is the problem of traffic congestion. Rapid increases in car ownership coupled with poor land use planning, inadequate road space, lack of regulated parking systems, uneducated use of the road by pedestrians, and bad driving behavior of motorists have all combined to produce congestions comparable to those experienced in cities in the advanced parts of the world. Traffic management measures have been tried in some of the major cities such as road expansion and redistribution of land uses in city centers, but most have produced minimal results. It is recommended in this paper that city authorities adopt an integrated approach to congestion with emphasis on influencing the behavior of the road users.     

Air pollution dynamics and the need for temporally differentiated road pricing

In this paper we investigate the effects of the temporal variation of pollution dispersion, traffic flows and vehicular emissions on pollution concentration and illustrate the need for temporally differentiated road pricing through an application to the case of the congestion charge in Stockholm, Sweden. By accounting explicitly for the role of pollution dispersion on optimal road pricing, we allow for a more comprehensive view of the economy–ecology interactions at stake, showing that price differentiation is an optimal response to the physical environment. Most congestion charges in place incorporate price bands to mitigate congestion. Our analysis indicates that, to ensure compliance with air quality standards, such price variations should also be a response to limited pollution dispersion.     

Bottleneck congestion pricing and modal split: Redistribution of toll revenue

The paper examines the question of the redistribution of toll revenue as seen in a bottleneck congestion model. Our objective is to analyse the impact of this redistribution on total cost and on modal split between railroad and road. Following Tabuchi’s two-mode model (Tabuchi, T., 1993. Bottleneck congestion and modal split. Journal of Urban Economics 34, 414-431.), we integrate a redistribution of toll revenue towards public transport into our study. In this context, we investigate two kinds of road toll regimes: a fine toll and a uniform toll. We will consider two types of railroad fare: when it is set equal to the marginal cost and when it is set equal to average cost. These models allow us to show that toll policy to be more efficient as long as toll revenue is directed towards public transport when the railroad fare is equal to average cost.     

Bottleneck congestion: Differentiating the coarse charge

The traditional bottleneck model for road congestion promotes the implementation of a triangular, and time varying, charge as the optimal solution for the road congestion externality. However, cognitive and technological barriers put a practical limit to the degree of differentiation real world implementations can handle. The traditional approach to accommodate for this concern has been a step toll, with the single step coarse charge as its simplest case.In this paper we study how efficiency of the coarse charge can be improved by differentiating its level and timing across groups of travellers. We use the traditional bottleneck model to analyse how the coarse charge can be differentiated over two groups of travellers assuming inelastic peak-hour demand.The results of our analysis indicate that differentiating the coarse charge across two groups of travellers considerably improves its efficiency without increasing cognitive effort and decision making costs for the individual traveller. A numeric illustration reveals a welfare gain of 69% of the first-best charge, up from 53% for the generic coarse charge. This increase is similar to what is obtained by moving from the coarse charge to a generic two step toll. Once different groups have been defined, one could in fact achieve the same gains by temporal separation of drivers, for example by use of licence plate numbers.The presented charging regime has a considerable degree of flexibility with respect to the share of travellers to attribute to each scheme, which further adds to its merits in practical applicability.     

An evaluation of national road user charging in England

This paper explores the effects of road user charging throughout England. It develops a model to test charging scenarios including revenue raising and revenue neutral charging options, and economically efficient pricing. For each scenario we estimate effects on traffic volumes, user charges and fares, subsidies, environmental costs, benefits to consumers, government revenue, and overall net benefits. We show that appropriate charging structures coupled with compensating reductions in existing motoring taxes can make a real difference to traffic growth, congestion and environmental damage, and can relieve pressure to build new roads.     

Predicting electronic toll collection service adoption: An integration of the technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behavior

In order to reduce the number of vehicles stuck in congestion, especially for stop-and-go traffic at toll plazas, the establishment of electronic toll collection (ETC) systems has been a hot issue and dominant trend in many countries. Taiwan has joined the crowd, adding an ETC system to its toll roads in early 2006. However, despite the potential benefits for motorists, the utilization rate has been lower than expected during the introductory stage. The objective of this study is to advance our understanding on the critical antecedents of motorists’ intention of ETC service adoption by integrating both technology acceptance model (TAM) and theory of planned behavior (TPB) perspectives. Through empirical data collection and analysis from highway motorists who had not installed on-board units (OBU) for ETC service in Taiwan, we found that system attributes, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, indeed, positively engender motorists’ attitudes towards ETC service adoption. Moreover, results also reveal that attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control positively influence the intention of ETC system adoption. Implications for practitioners and researchers, and suggestions for future research are also addressed in this study.     

The effect of the London congestion charge on road casualties: an intervention analysis

The introduction of the congestion charge in central London on the 17th of February, 2003, led to a reduction in congestion. One factor that has not been fully analysed is the impact of the congestion charge on traffic casualties in London. Less car travel within the charging zone may result in fewer traffic collisions, however, as the number of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists increased after the introduction of the congestion charge, the number of traffic casualties associated with these groups may also have increased. Reductions in congestion can also lead to faster speeds. Therefore, there could be increases in injury severity for those crashes that do occur. An intervention analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of the congestion charge on traffic casualties for motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, both within the charging zone and in areas of London outside the zone. This was done for killed and serious injuries (known as KSI in British terminology) and for slight injuries to examine whether there were any shifts in severity outcomes. Our results suggest no statistically significant effect for total casualties in London, but within the charging zone there has been a statistically significant drop in motorist casualties, and possibly an increase in cyclist casualties. There is an associated effect of an increase in casualties of motorcyclists and cyclists in some areas outside the charging zone, suggesting that changes in the design of the congestion charge may be needed to achieve reductions in casualties.

Path-differentiated pricing in congestion mitigation

Instead of charging tolls on individual links, this paper considers doing the same on paths. Path and link tolls are “valid” if they encourage motorists to use routes that collectively lead to a target distribution, e.g., one that minimizes travel delay. Because the numbers of valid link and path tolls are typically infinite, an objective in pricing tolls is to find a set of valid tolls that yields the least revenue to lessen the financial burden on motorists.Path tolls are generally more flexible than link tolls and this paper shows that this flexibility can substantially reduce the financial burden on motorists. Additionally, valid path tolls yielding the least revenue possess characteristics with interesting policy implications. To determine these path tolls, it is natural to formulate the problem as a mathematical program with complementarity constraints. However, this paper also investigates alternative formulations that highlight the problem’s complexity and suggest ways to solve the problem efficiently.     

Road pricing: A solution for Hong Kong?

The Government of the Territory of Hong Kong is the first in the world to propose a system of charging motorists directly for the use of congested roads. Hong Kong has more registered motor vehicles per unit length of road than any other country and the road system is physically separate from China. Despite the scheme's technical proficiency and ability to earn revenue well in excess of operating costs, there is doubt about equity and efficiency. In the end, traffic conditions were not seen to be sufficiently bad so the scheme's introduction has been postponed.     

Accuracy of the Gothenburg congestion charges forecast

This paper explores the accuracy of the transport model forecast of the Gothenburg congestion charges, implemented in 2013. The design of the charging system implies that the path disutility cannot be computed as a sum of link attributes. The route choice model is therefore implemented as a hierarchical algorithm, applying a continuous value of travel time (VTT) distribution. The VTT distribution was estimated from stated choice (SC) data. However, based on experience of impact forecasting with a similar model and of impact outcome of congestion charges in Stockholm, the estimated VTT distribution had to be stretched to the right. We find that the forecast traffic reductions across the cordon and travel time gains were close to those observed in the peak. However, the reduction in traffic across the cordon was underpredicted off-peak. The necessity to make the adjustment indicates that the VTT inferred from SC data does not reveal the travellers’ preferences, or that there are factors determining route choice other than those included in the model: travel distance, travel time and congestion charge.     

Overcoming public aversion to congestion pricing

We have completed a survey of Southern California residents designed to examine whether the details of policy design can make congestion pricing more attractive to the motoring public. A congestion fee proposal is often regarded as simply a tax increase; also, especially in the US, motorists apparently regard the use of congestion fees as coercive, in that they often have few if any practical alternatives to paying the fee. Unlike most opinion surveys on congestion pricing, our survey was quite explicit about the fate of the collected revenues. For example, we presented respondents with policies that returned a substantial portion of the revenues to the public, either in the form of cash (through reductions in sales taxes and vehicle registration fees or through income tax credits) or in the form of coupons to be used for vehicle emissions equipment repair, transit, and the like. In addition, we examined whether the typically intense opposition to congestion pricing if applied only to a part of a roadway, leaving the motorist free to choose between free lanes and toll lanes. We find that a promise to offset the imposition of congestion fees by other taxes can result in a 7% point increase in support for congestion pricing policies, and the restriction of congestion pricing to a single lane on a freeway attracts from 9% to 17% points of additional support.     

Congestion charges and retail revenues: Results from the Stockholm road pricing trial

This paper studies the impact of the Stockholm road pricing trial on retail revenues. The analysis is performed using revenue data from 14 shopping malls, 9 within the tool area and 5 outside the tool area. The data also include revenue data from a sample of retail stores located along the main shopping streets in Stockholm. The results show that the Stockholm road pricing trial did not negatively affect retail revenue, neither in shopping malls nor in the sample of retail stores.     

Behavioural responses to vehicle emissions charging

Road pricing as an economic construct is not a new phenomenon in transportation research. Whilst fuel taxation and tolling of roads are common ways of raising revenue in many countries, these initiatives are primarily aimed at road infrastructure financing. Worldwide there has been growing interest in pricing structures designed to also manage the growing levels of traffic congestion and, in recent times, an increasing focus on generating reductions in carbon emissions from vehicle ownership and use. This paper presents a stated choice experiment undertaken in response to the increasing interest in the environmental externalities of travel behaviour. The aim of this choice experiment is to identify the potential to switch to more fuel efficient cars that emit lower emissions, under differing pricing and technology scenarios. Results indicate that annual and variable emissions surcharges targeted very specifically to vehicle emission rates have a noticeable role in modifying vehicle purchasing decisions.     

Cycleways and footpaths: What separation is needed for equivalent air pollution dose between travel modes?

Cycling and walking are being promoted in many urban areas as alternatives to motorised transport for health, environmental, and financial reasons. The reduced congestion and resulting decrease in the overall amount of pollution reduced can be expected to result in health benefits for the community. However, active commuters, due to their increased respiration rates and often increased travel times can expect to receive larger doses of air pollution compared with those using motorised forms of transport. However, given the large dropoff in concentrations away from a road, it can be expected that significant reductions can be achieved even with relatively small increases in separation between the path of cyclists/pedestrians and motor vehicles.This study presents a simple methodology for calculating the separation needed for cyclists and pedestrians to experience the same air pollution dose as car commuters. An example is given based on carbon monoxide (CO) data collected in a field campaign consisting of a car driver, a cyclist and a pedestrian travelling on a 2600 metre loop of road in Auckland. For this case study, the estimated distance from the centreline needed for cyclists and pedestrians to receive an equivalent dose of CO as motorists was found to range from 5.8 to 14.2 m depending on the commuting mode and the dispersion state of the atmosphere at the site. This was equal to a CO concentration reduction of 0.1–0.14 ppm per metre. Recommendations on facility modifications and route selections have been made to make active mode commuting safer.     

Modeling the impact of government guarantees on toll charge,road quality and capacity for Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) road projects

Government guarantees are frequently used to attract private investors’ participation into Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) road projects. In this paper, we investigate the impact of government guarantees on toll charge, road quality and road capacity by taking perspective of the private investor. The main results are: (1) Minimum traffic guarantee increases toll charge while decreasing road quality. Under a low guarantee level, minimum traffic guarantee has no impact on road capacity. However, it improves road capacity when a high guarantee level is performed. (2) Under minimum revenue guarantee, if the guarantee level is sufficiently high, the optimal toll charge will be sufficiently large, but road quality and road capacity will approach zero. (3) Price compensation guarantee decreases toll charge and increases both road quality and road capacity. This paper further investigates the impact of government guarantees when the contract is auctioned. We find that auction reduces the impact of government guarantees on toll charge while failing to affect the impact of government guarantees on road quality and capacity. Some policy implications are also derived from our model results.     

Equity effects of congestion pricing: Quantitative methodology and a case study for Stockholm

It is widely recognised that congestion pricing could be an effective measure to solve environmental and congestion problems in urban areas—a reform that normally also would generate a net welfare surplus. Despite this the implementation of congestion pricing has been very slow. One reason for a low public and political acceptance could be that equity impacts have not been given enough concern. In studies of distributional impacts of congestion pricing it has often been claimed that the reform is regressive rather than progressive even if there are studies claiming the opposite. We develop a method for detailed, quantitative assessment of equity effects of road pricing and apply it to a real-world example, namely a proposed congestion-charging scheme for Stockholm. The method simultaneously takes into account differences in travel behaviour, in preferences (such as values of time) and in supply of travel possibilities (car ownership, public transport level-of-service etc.). We conclude that the two most important factors for the net impact of congestion pricing are the initial travel patterns and how revenues are used. Differences in these respects dwarf differences in other factors such as values of time. This is accentuated by the fact that the total collected charges are more than three times as large as the net benefits. With respect to different groups, we find that men, high-income groups and residents in the central parts of the city will be affected the most. If revenues are used for improving public transport, this will benefit women and low-income groups the most. If revenues are used for tax cuts, the net benefits will be about equal for men and women on the average, while it naturally will benefit high-income groups. Given that it is likely that the revenues will be used to some extent to improve the public transport system, we conclude that the proposed congestion-charging scheme for Stockholm is progressive rather than regressive.     

Use of duration models for predicting vehicular delay at a US/Canadian border crossing

Delays caused by congestion at the US/Canadian border crossing between Washington state and British Columbia have underscored the need for some sort of intervention. One obvious congestion-mitigation measure would be to estimate delay times and then relay this information to motorists so that they could select among alternative border crossing sites, or delay their trips. This paper applies duration models to estimate vehicular delay and demonstrates the usefulness of such models as a basis for a fully automated motorist information system. The paper also explores the flexibility of duration models, in providing estimates of vehicle delay, by using alternate parametric forms and assessing prediction accuracy.