Impacts of impression changes on freeway driver intention to adopt electronic toll collection service

This paper proposes conceptual frameworks incorporating technology acceptance model, theory of planned behavior and three additional constructs – impression changes, attitude of government, and risk to investigate the factors affecting freeway driver intention to adopt electronic toll collection service for both users and nonusers of electronic toll collection. The proposed frameworks are unique because of the incorporation of media and word-of-mouth effects to represent the impression changes, respectively. The respondents were specifically asked about their impressions of electronic toll collection related policies and strategies spread through media and word-of-mouth before and after electronic toll collection operation. Estimated results obtained from structural equations modeling validate that impression changes in both media and word-of-mouth exhibit significant direct or indirect effects on freeway driver intention to adopt electronic toll collection service. Corresponding strategies to enhance electronic toll collection adoption rate are then proposed accordingly.     

A model for optimizing electronic toll collection systems

This paper examines the deployment of electronic toll collection (ETC) and develops a model to maximize social welfare associated with a toll plaza. A payment choice model estimates the share of traffic using ETC as a function of delay, price, and a fixed cost of acquiring the in-vehicle transponder. Delay in turn depends on the relative number of ETC and manual collection lanes. Price depends on the discount given to users of the ETC lanes. The fixed cost of acquiring the transponder (not simply a monetary cost, but also the effort involved in signing up for the program) is a key factor in the model. Once a traveler acquires the transponder, the cost of choosing ETC in the future declines significantly. Welfare depends on the market share of ETC, and includes delay and gasoline consumption, toll collection costs, and social costs such as air pollution. This work examines the best combination of ETC lanes and toll discount to maximize welfare. Too many ETC lanes cause excessive delay to non-equipped users. Too high a discount costs the highway agency revenue needed to operate the facility. The model is applied to California’s Carquinez Bridge, and recommendations are made concerning the number of dedicated ETC lanes and the appropriate ETC discount.     

Adoption of Internet Services in Liner Shipping: An Empirical Study of Shippers in Taiwan

Abstract

The Internet service attributes desired by shippers were examined as well as a model that seeks to explain the intention of shippers to use Internet services in liner shipping. Using data collected from a survey of a group of shippers in Taiwan, the relationships among the constructs in the model were tested, namely: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, security and use intention. The results suggest that shippers perceive tracing to be the most important service attribute of Internet services, followed by checking for customs clearance, vessel schedules and electronic document services. The findings indicate that perceived ease of use is the major factor affecting the intention of shippers to use Internet services, and that perceived ease of use has a strong positive effect on perceived usefulness. The results also indicate that security has a positive effect on a shipper’s perception of ease of use. However, the influence of security on use intention and perceived usefulness was not supported in this study. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings on the intention of shippers to use Internet services in liner shipping are discussed.     

Electronic toll collection

Electronic toll collection (ETC) offers the opportunity for toll facility operators to supply a substantially greater amount of traffic capacity than any other currently available form of toll collection. The current interest in ETC derives from the proposals in a number of countries to introduce urban tollways, using the net toll receipts to recover the cost of the capital investment plus an acceptable profit margin for those taking the financial risk. This paper outlines the main economic, technical, and administrative features of ETC in the context of toll charges that are determined by the rules of capital cost recovery. Electronic road pricing (ERP) as a mechanism for implementing full road user charging (in line with economic principles of efficient use of road space) is not the topic of this paper, given the predominantly financial basis of setting tolls for private roads. The underlying rationale for toolroads in the political climate of most nations is not suggestive of any plan to revise the pricing regime in line with ERP upon reversion of the infrastructure to the public sector when the capital costs are repaid. It is assumed that the tollroads will revert to free roads in line with the existing road system, and that road users will continue to contribute towards the costs of maintaining the road system by the traditional pricing mechanisms (i.e. fuel taxes, vehicle registration, fees, etc.).     

Privacy issues in electronic toll collection

This paper summarises privacy issues in the context of electronic toll collection (ETC). Developments in ETC are noted, and the ways in which privacy is being addressed are discussed. The development of privacy codes of practice by toll road operators is discussed, mentioning in particular recent development in Australia involving the alignment of such codes with Standards Australia (SA) draft guidelines and the privacy principles developed by the Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner are noted.     

Peak period tolls: Precepts and prospects

This article presents the economic rationale for road pricing and provides some scale on the magnitude of peak period tolls that might be justified. It discusses the impacts of such tolls on congestion, air quality and economic development and suggests a long term strategy towards areawide implementation of peak period pricing. It discusses current trends which are increasing the likelihood for implementation of congestion pricing and toll roads in the future. In particular, it discusses some aspects of the 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) which will eliminate some of the current restraints on congestion pricing and toll highways.Abbreviations ETC Electronic toll collection - FHWA Federal Highway Administration - HOV High occupancy vehicle - ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act - LOS Level of service - TCM Transportation control measure - V/C Volume-to-capacity ratio - VMT Vehicle mile(s) of travel - vphpl Vehicles per hour per lane     

How much is too much for tolled road users: Toll saturation and the implications for car commuting value of travel time savings?

The current practice of forecasting the demand for new tolled roads typically assumes that car users are prepared to pay a higher toll for a shorter journey, and they will keep doing so as long as the toll cost is not higher than their current value of travel time savings. Practice ignores the possibility that there could be a point when motorists stop driving on toll roads due to a toll budget constraint. The unconstrained toll budget assumption may be valid in networks where the addition of a new toll road does not result in a binding budget constraint that car users may have for using toll roads (although it could also be invoked for existing tolled routes through a reduction in use of a tolled route). In a road network like Sydney which offers a growing number of (linked) tolled roads, the binding budget constraint may be invoked, and hence including additional toll links might in turn reduce the car users’ willingness to pay for toll roads to save the same amount of travel time. When this occurs, car users are said to reach a toll saturation point (or threshold) and begin to consider avoiding one or more toll roads. Whilst toll saturation has important implications for demand forecasting and planning of toll roads, this type of behaviour has not been explored in the literature. We investigate the influence that increasing toll outlays has on preferences of car commuters to use one or more tolled roads as the number of tolled roads increases. The Sydney metropolitan area offers a unique laboratory to test this phenomenon, with nine tolled roads currently in place and another five in planning. The evidence supports the hypothesis that the value of travel time savings decreases as a consequence of toll saturation.     

Asymmetric response model for evaluating airline service quality: An empirical study in cross-strait direct flights

In this paper we propose a framework to investigate service quality asymmetrically. An asymmetric response model within structural equation framework is developed to study the relationship between service quality and the passenger’s behavioral intention in the cross-strait direct flight (Taiwan–Shanghai). The results reveal that service quality in the loss region has more impact on behavioral intention than service quality in the gain region. Hence, attention should be paid to the service quality of important attributes in the loss region and strategies should ensure service quality of those important attributes that meet passenger’s expectations.     

Adoption intentions for micro-mobility – Insights from electric scooter sharing in Taiwan

Micro-mobility may alleviate a number of challenges facing big cities today, and offer a pathway toward more sustainable urban transportation. This research investigates what factors influence university students’ intention to use an electric scooter sharing service. A theoretical framework adapting the theory of planned behaviour was used. Survey responses from 471 university students in Taiwan were collected. Data were analysed using factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Respondents with different levels of usage intention and in different stages of behavioural change display distinct reasoning patterns. Lack of perceived compatibility with personal values, mobility needs and life-style particularly drives students with low usage intention and pre-contemplators, who show signs of “green hypocrisy”. Awareness-knowledge about the sharing system and environmental values influence the formation of usage intention in indirect ways. This study is intended to be a reference for subsequent conceptual and empirical work on e-scooter sharing in particular, and shared mobility with other types of powered two-wheelers.     

Mobile taxi booking application service’s continuance usage intention by users

The long-term development of a mobile booking taxi application service depends on the continued use of its passengers. The aim of this study is to investigate the determinants of the mobile taxi booking application service’s continuance intention, using the technology continuance theory by including the perceived risk and subjective norms. The data were collected by surveying 387 users of the mobile taxi application service. The data were analysed by applying the partial least squares technique. The analysis showed that the technology continuance theory has extensive power to explain the continuance intention to use the mobile booking taxi application. Subjective norms also have a significant effect on the attitude of mobile booking taxi application users which represents an important contribution to technology continuance theory extension. The theoretical and practical significances of the study have been discussed.     

Distributional effects of road pricing: Assessment of nine scenarios for Paris

The starting point of this paper is to consider that there is no general answer to the question of the equity of urban road pricing. We therefore simulate and compare the distributional effects on commuters of nine toll scenarios for Paris, assuming that utility is nonlinear in income. We show that the distributional pattern across income groups depends crucially on the level of traffic reduction induced by tolling. Stringent tolls are more favourable to low-income motorists. Equity effects also vary with toll design. Compared to a reference scenario which uniformly charges all motorists driving within Paris, an inbound cordon toll is detrimental to low-incomes. Conversely, granting a rebate to low CO₂ emission cars slightly improves their situation while an exemption for Paris residents is neutral. Surprisingly, it matters little for social equity whether toll revenues are allocated to all commuters or solely to public transport users.     

广西高速公路电子不停车收费ETC系统的应用研究

电子不停车收费技术是一种先进的电子收费技术方式,文章介绍了目前全国电子不停车收费技术的研究及应用情况,并针对广西的实际,提出了具体的研究内容及实施方案,为电子不停车技术在广西的应用提供依据。     

High speed rail passenger segmentation and ticketing channel preference

A multi-channel strategy for the purposes of marketing and ticketing has been widely employed in various fields, including the transportation industry, yet few transportation studies have investigated ticket channel-related issues. This study thus adopts Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) as a case study to identify passengers’ perceptions regarding key factors that affect the channel preference through which they receive their services, particularly across a four-stage ticket purchasing process, including information enquiry, booking, payment, and ticket pick-up. To investigate these key factors, we base the framework of our research model upon customers’ perceived value perspective, adopting a multinomial logit model to examine the influence of channel attributes on HSR passengers’ preferences. The relationship among the decisions made by these passengers at each ticket purchasing stage is also examined. The findings of our study demonstrate that perceived risk, perceived benefit, and perceived ease of use are critical factors influencing passengers’ channel preference throughout the ticket-purchasing process. Perceptual differences are proven to exist due to various demographic factors and trip characteristics. The conclusions of this study have implications for THSR management to design appropriate ticketing channel services for certain types of passengers and can also be generally applied to multiple distribution channels in conventional railway system and intercity bus services.     

Bayesian network-based formulation and analysis for toll road utilization supported by traffic information provision

Congestion pricing has been proposed and investigated as an effective means of optimizing traffic assignment, alleviating congestion, and enhancing traffic operation efficiencies. Meanwhile, advanced traffic information dissemination systems, such as Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS), have been developed and deployed to provide real-time, accurate, and complete network-wide traffic information to facilitate travelers’ trip plans and routing selections. Recent advances in ATIS technologies, especially telecommunication technology, allow dynamic, personalized, and multimodal traffic information to be disseminated and impact travelers’ choices of departure times, alternative routes, and travel modes in the context of congestion pricing. However, few studies were conducted to determine the impact of traffic information dissemination on toll road utilizations. In this study, the effects of the provisions of traffic information on toll road usage are investigated and analyzed based on a stated preference survey conducted in Texas. A Bayesian Network (BN)-based approach is developed to discover travelers’ opinions and preferences for toll road utilization supported by network-wide traffic information provisions. The probabilistic interdependencies among various attributes, including routing choice, departure time, traffic information dissemination mode, content, coverage, commuter demographic information, and travel patterns, are identified and their impacts on toll road usage are quantified. The results indicate that the BN model performs reasonably well in travelers’ preference classifications for toll road utilization and knowledge extraction. The BN Most Probable Explanation (MPE) measurement, probability inference and variable influence analysis results illustrate travelers using highway advisory radio and internet as their primary mode of receiving traffic information are more likely to comply with routing recommendations and use toll roads. Traffic information regarding congested roads, road hazard warnings, and accident locations is of great interest to travelers, who tend to acquire such information and use toll roads more frequently. Travel time formation for home-based trips can considerably enhance travelers’ preferences for toll road usage. Female travelers tend to seek traffic information and utilize toll roads more frequently. As expected, the information provided at both pre-trip and en-route stages can positively influence travelers’ preferences for toll road usage. The proposed methodology and research findings advance our previous study and provide insight into travelers’ behavioral tendencies concerning toll road utilization in support of traffic information dissemination.     

Spreading distinctive insignia benefits from mobile service: evidence from a mobile application of transportation

ABSTRACT

Mobile commerce (m-commerce) faces a growing array of client devices for which applications are designed. Applications developed for general consumer use must be compatible with a wide range of devices. This research investigates how perceived usefulness and enjoyment affect intention to use a mobile application service (T-Express). In this study, we formulate a commitment model from the perspective of the social identity and technology acceptance perspective. Empirical data were collected by conducting a field survey of users of T-Express from Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC) stations in Taiwan. The main findings of the study are that wireless technology provides great value to businesses when it allows consumers to access real-time data to make timely decisions that either decrease costs or increase revenues; and to achieve a higher intention to use mobile applications, there should be a clear communication process between mobile application and passenger. Our findings indicate that one of the more overt illustrations of the power of packaging symbolism involves package design strategies that serve to provide a radical new upscale positioning for the THSRC brand.     

Relationships among service quality,corporate image,customer satisfaction,and behavioral intention for the elderly in high speed rail services

Since the Taiwan High Speed Rail operations, Taiwan's transportation market entered into a new era. Because of its competitive service of speed, convenience, environmental concerns and comfort, the High Speed Rail has not only made significant changes but has played a significant role in Taiwan's transportation. However, Taiwan now is an aging society. Due to the physical constraints among the elderly, demands to redesign the traffic system and maintain transportation safety are essential considerations. In the current market, Taiwan's transportation construction is facing fewer barriers; however, it must still improve, especially considering the health of the elderly. Thus, this study investigates elderly passengers' demands and further examined the relationships among service quality, corporate image, customer satisfaction, and behavioral intention. According to empirical analytical results based on structural equation modeling (N = 341), satisfaction directly affected travel behaviors, while service quality and corporate image played indirect roles. In addition, service quality plays a significant role on the effect of satisfaction. This study provides empirical evidence to indicate the quality of the accessible environment affects not only the effectiveness and efficiency of service quality, but also, the corporate image. The results provide valuable references for critically managing the elderly's usage of the high speed rail transportation service. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

We can all get along: The alignment of driver and bicyclist roadway design preferences in the San Francisco Bay Area

Two trends in the United States—growth in bicycling and enthusiasm for complete streets—suggest a need to understand how various roadway users view roadway designs meant to accommodate multiple modes. While many studies have examined bicyclists’ roadway design preferences, there has been little investigation into the opinions of non-bicyclists who might bicycle in the future. Additionally, little research has explored the preferences of the motorists who share roads with cyclists—despite the fact that motorists compose the vast majority of roadway users in the United States and similarly developed countries.This paper presents results from an internet survey examining perceived comfort while driving and bicycling on various roadways among 265 non-bicycling drivers, bicycling drivers, and non-driving bicyclists in the San Francisco Bay Area. Analysis of variance tests revealed that both drivers and bicyclists are more comfortable on roadways with separated bicycling facilities than those with shared space. In particular, roadways with barrier-separated bicycle lanes were the most popular among all groups, regardless of bicycling frequency. Striped bicycle lanes, a common treatment in the United States, received mixed reviews: a majority of the sample believed that they benefit cyclists and drivers through predictability and legitimacy on the roadway, but the lanes were rated significantly less comfortable than barrier-separated treatments—particularly among potential bicyclists.These findings corroborate research on bicyclists’ preferences for roadway design and contribute a new understanding of motorists’ preferences. They also support the U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s efforts to encourage greater accommodation of bicyclists on urban streets.     

储值卡收费系统在广西高速公路中的应用

文章结合目前广西高速公路储值卡收费系统具体情况,对利用储值卡进行高速公路收费工作的业务流程进行了研究,同时介绍了储值卡收费系统整体架构以及数据传输等业务涉及到的关键技术。     

Drivers’ willingness-to-pay to reduce travel time: evidence from the San Diego I-15 congestion pricing project

The adoption of congestion pricing depends fundamentally upon drivers’ willingness to pay to reduce travel time during the congested morning peak period. Using revealed preference data from a congestion pricing demonstration project in San Diego, we estimate that willingness to pay to reduce congested travel time is higher than previous stated preference results. Our estimate of median willingness to pay to reduce commute time is roughly $30 per hour, although this may be biased upward by drivers’ perception that the toll facility provides safer driving conditions. Drivers also use the posted toll as an indicator of abnormal congestion and increase their usage of the toll facility when tolls are higher than normal.     

Analysing queueing at toll plazas using a coupled,multiple-queue,queueing system model: application to toll plaza design

A vehicle approaching a toll plaza observes the queues at each of the available toll-lanes before choosing which to join. This choice process, the arrival process of vehicles and the service characteristics of the toll-booths, affect the queues and delay the drivers. In this paper, queueing at a toll plaza is modelled as a multiple-queue queueing system where the arrival process to a queue (toll-lane) is dependent on the state of all the queues. In the past, such systems have been modelled mathematically only for two queues and are not applicable for toll plazas with three or more toll-lanes. The proposed model determines the steady-state probability density function (pdf) for the queues at large toll plazas. This study is used to determine the number of toll-lanes or the length of the upstream queueing area required to achieve certain user-specified levels-of-service. Expected delay and maximum queue length are used as level-of-service measures. Indicative design charts are also provided.