The Impact of Adopting Time-of-Day Tolling

The Impact of Adopting Time-of-Day Tolling: Case Study of 183A in Austin, Texas

Thomas Light
Sunil Patil
Gregory D. Erhardt
Flavia Tsang
Peter Burge
Paul Sorensen
Mia Zmud
Copyright Date: 2015
Published by: RAND Corporation
Pages: 40
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt15sk8tk
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  • Book Info
    The Impact of Adopting Time-of-Day Tolling
    Book Description:

    This study evaluates the traffic and revenue impacts of moving from a fixed toll rate on the 183A Turnpike in Texas to a toll structure that varies by time of day. RAND administered a stated preference survey and developed discrete choice models to understand how motorists are likely to respond to alternative tolling arrangements. Shifting to time-of-day tolling is not likely to reduce congestion downstream in the transportation network.

    eISBN: 978-0-8330-9134-5
    Subjects: Political Science, Technology, Transportation Studies

Table of Contents

  1. Front Matter
    (pp. i-ii)
  2. Preface
    (pp. iii-iv)
  3. Table of Contents
    (pp. v-vi)
  4. Figures and Tables
    (pp. vii-viii)
  5. Summary
    (pp. ix-x)
  6. Acknowledgments
    (pp. xi-xii)
  7. CHAPTER ONE Introduction
    (pp. 1-4)

    This project evaluates the traffic and revenue impacts of moving from a fixed toll rate on the 183A Turnpike in Texas to a toll structure that varies by time of day. By adopting a toll structure that varies by time of day, the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) hopes to encourage motorists to shift their departure times from peak to off-peak periods, in order to reduce congestion elsewhere in the transportation network. At the same time, decisionmakers are constrained in their ability to raise toll rates or implement changes in the toll rate structure that would reduce the financial...

  8. CHAPTER TWO Modeling Motorists’ Responses to Toll Changes
    (pp. 5-14)

    To support our tolling analysis, users of the 183/183A corridor were contacted and asked to complete a survey. The survey collected information about respondent demographics, travel behaviors, and experiences using 183A. As part of the survey, respondents were asked to participate in two stated preference experiments. The first choice experiment elicited information about motorists’ value of time by asking respondents to indicate their preferences for two travel options that differ in their travel times and monetary costs.¹ The second choice experiment was more complex and asked respondents to choose between different departure times and route options in the context of...

  9. CHAPTER THREE Modifying 183A Tolls
    (pp. 15-22)

    We used the model described in the previous chapter to investigate the traffic and revenue implications of adjusting tolls on 183A. In this chapter, we first explore the implications of proportionally raising or lowering the tolls on 183A during all time periods. While this does not directly address the research question posed to us by CTRMA, it provides useful information about the overall sensitivity of users of the 183A facility to changes in the toll level. Next, we explore the effect of reducing toll levels during the off-peak periods. Finally, we identify the set of revenue neutral peak and off-teak...

  10. CHAPTER FOUR Conclusion
    (pp. 23-24)

    This study has sought to inform CTRMA on the traffic and revenue impacts of shifting to time-of-day toll rates on 183A. One of the primary goals of adopting time-of-day pricing is to reduce congestion elsewhere in the transportation network by causing motorists to shift their travel from peak to off-peak periods. CTRMA is constrained in its ability to raise toll rates during any period of the day, but it can reduce toll rates if those reductions do not reduce revenues. As a result, CTRMA is interested in understanding whether off-peak toll levels on 183A could be reduced without reducing revenues....

  11. Abbreviations
    (pp. 25-26)
  12. References
    (pp. 27-28)