Optimal Cordon Pricing in a Non-Monocentric City

This paper extends a previous study on cordon pricing in a monocentric city in order to examine the effect of cordon pricing based on an urban spatial model of a non-monocentric city. In a non-monocentric city, trips may occur between any pair of locations in the city. The model describes the spatial distribution of trip demand and traffic congestion under alternative pricing schemes. The authors evaluate the efficiency of resource allocation by comparing three schemes: no-toll equilibrium, first-best optimum, and optimal cordon pricing. Optimal cordon pricing is defined as a combination of cordon location and toll level that maximizes the social surplus in a city. Although the earlier research showed that cordon pricing tends to be effective in monocentric cities, numerical simulations for the present study show that cordon pricing is not always effective for congestion management in non-monocentric cities. Findings showed that welfare improvement from introducing cordon pricing was relatively larger when the urban spatial structure is close to monocentric, the density gradient is steeper, trip demand is less elastic, and road capacity is larger. These results suggest that cordon pricing is likely to be most effective in small cities.

Language

  • English

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  • Accession Number: 01003116
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS, ATRI
  • Created Date: Aug 23 2005 11:26AM