01091906

Component

Rapid development of urbanization and growth of car ownership in China have led to serious urban traffic congestion. The purpose of this paper is to develop second-best congestion pricing models to evaluate the social economic efficiency of congestion charging policies. A problem for two time periods (peak and pre-peak) and two travel modes (car and bus) on one-way network is analyzed, and a second-best congestion pricing model with multiple time periods and travel modes is constructed using an excess-demand approach. Based on the congestion situation in an urban highway system, a simulation study with four cases is conducted and pricing models are resolved to examine the efficiency of the alternative congestion pricing schemes by analyzing the traffic volume assignment, modes split, congestion tolls and social welfare of different pricing policies. The main findings from the simulation results are congestion pricing policies are found to have following major impacts on urban traffic: a) diversion of tolled route to the free route; b) shift of peak period traffic to the pre-peak period; c) shift of traffic volume by car to bus; and d) reduction in total vehicle volume and increase in total passenger volume (car and bus).

01084478

08-0509

English

16p

2008

Transportation Research Board 87th Annual Meeting

DVD

Figures (7) ; References (16) ; Tables (3)

Automobile ownership; Buses; Case studies; Congestion pricing; Peak hour traffic; Peak periods; Simulation; Traffic congestion; Transportation modes; Transportation policy; Travel demand; Urban areas; Urbanization

China

Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; Public Transportation; I10: Economics and Administration; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2008 Paper #08-0509

TRIS, TRB

Jan 29 2008 2:51PM