A Methodology to Analyze the Effectiveness of Roadway Pricing Control Strategies Using Travel Survey Data

(PI: Chandra Bhat)

The implementation of roadway pricing controls may lead to complex responses from individuals. Individuals may stop making one or more trips, they may change the destination for trips, they may change travel modes, they may change time-of-day, they may switch routes, or they may combine these response strategies. Thus, the redistribution of vehicular trips in space and time due to pricing strategies can only be examined by developing a comprehensive modeling framework to accommodate the possible complex responses of individuals. This project proposes the development and implementation of methodologies that will facilitate the analysis of varying pricing strategies across different times of the day. Most current methodologies, on the other hand, are able to evaluate pricing strategies implemented only within broad time periods. In addition, an important focus of this research will be on analyzing real-time pricing strategies, as opposed to fixed pricing strategies implemented only during pre-defined times of the day. The methodology to be developed in the current project can be used as a powerful evaluation tool to manage and influence traffic patterns through dynamic pricing control strategies implemented with Intelligent Transportation Systems Technology.

Keywords: Congestion-pricing, dynamic pricing control, travel behavior, real-time systems, Intelligent Transportation Systems, econometric models, discrete-choice models, hazard duration models.