Comparing Pricing Mechanisms for Managed Lanes

Two common means of pricing managed lanes (MLs) are to vary tolls based on time of day or to vary them dynamically based on real-time congestion. It is not clear which of the two tolling options is more effective in regulating ML usage. In this study, large datasets on toll prices, vehicle travel speeds, and traffic volumes were used to assess the effects of the two different congestion pricing strategies on traffic conditions on six MLs around the United States. The MLs included two that were variably priced: SR-91 and I-25; and four that were dynamically priced: I-35W, I-394, I-35E, and MoPac. The study used seven different performance measures to examine the ability of the toll to regulate traffic on the MLs. Overall, both pricing measures were found to keep traffic flowing on MLs, and neither pricing method was clearly superior. Dynamic pricing was found to perform slightly better in most metrics.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.5038/CUTR-NICR-RR-2021-4-1
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/56968
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Texas A&M Transportation Institute

  College Station, TX  United States 

  National Institute for Congestion Reduction

  University of South Florida
  Tampa, FL  United States  33620

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Burris, Mark
  • Jha, Kartikeya
  • Biswas, Sayantan
  • Holloway, Laura
• Publication Date: 2021-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 101p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Congestion pricing; Managed lanes; Tolls; Traffic congestion; Traffic volume
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01778839
• Record Type: Publication
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551947136
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 9 2021 9:44AM