00732444

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/1558-08

http://scholar.google.com...gton&publication_year=1996

One of the key issues in ascertaining the efficacy of various pricing schemes for managing highway traffic levels is the sensitivity of highway users to prices. The development of automatic toll collection technology (automatic vehicle identification or electronic toll and traffic management) has now made congestion pricing schemes technically feasible. The literature is relatively quiet on the specific question of the elasticity of demand with respect to changes in highway tolls, especially when tolls are time varying. Data from the Golden Gate Bridge from 1979 to 1984 are used to examine travel demand under time-varying prices. If traffic is price sensitive (elastic), then it might be possible to realize some of the potential for road pricing that has been identified in the literature. A brief overview of the literature on road pricing is provided, followed by a description of the data, model development, empirical results, and conclusions. The results include the finding that day-of-week cross elasticities are complementary; that is, increases in tolls on 1 day of the week tend to dampen traffic on other days of the week. This finding lends empirical support to claims that time-varying prices may be a viable strategy for managing traffic demand.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1558, Transportation Finance, Economics, and Strategic Management.

English

p. 55-59

1996

Transportation Research Record

0309059585

References (19) ; Tables (3)

Automatic vehicle identification; Case studies; Congestion pricing; Elasticity (Mechanics); Guides to the literature; Highway traffic control; Literature reviews; Road pricing; Tolls; Travel demand

Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, California)

Economics; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Society; I10: Economics and Administration

TRIS, TRB

Feb 21 1997 12:00AM

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• CHALLENGES OF UPGRADING STRATEGIC CAPABILITY IN PUBLIC SECTOR
• CRITERIA FOR SETTING TARIFFS ON TOLL HIGHWAYS IN MEXICO
• EFFICIENT ORGANIZATION OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION, REHABILITATION, AND MAINTENANCE
• FEDERAL HIGHWAY REVENUE ESTIMATION: COST ALLOCATION PERSPECTIVE
• GASOLINE AND TRAVEL DEMAND MODELS USING TIME SERIES AND CROSS-SECTION DATA FROM UNITED STATES
• HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY TOLL REVENUE USES
• HOW TO PASS LOCAL OPTION TAXES TO FINANCE TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS
• INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES IN RESTRUCTURING ROAD SECTOR
• MEASURING PERCEPTIONS OF ROAD PRICING ALTERNATIVES: MINNESOTA PUBLIC OUTREACH EFFORT
• MODELING TOLL PRICING STRATEGIES IN GREATER TORONTO AREA
• OVERVIEW OF ROAD MANAGEMENT IN RUSSIA
• PAYING EQUITABLY FOR URBAN CONGESTION THROUGH NATIONAL ROAD PRICING SYSTEM
• REVENUE ENHANCEMENT THROUGH INCREASED MOTOR FUEL TAX ENFORCEMENT
• TRANSPORTATION COST ALLOCATION: APPLYING COST ALLOCATION IN A MULTIMODAL ENVIRONMENT
• USING ROAD PRICING REVENUE: ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY AND EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS