Optimal Toll Design Problem in Dynamic Traffic Networks with Joint Route and Departure Time Choice

2005 ◽  
Vol 1923 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dusica Joksimovic ◽  
Michiel C. J. Bliemer ◽  
Piet H. L. Bovy
Keyword(s):  
Travel Behavior ◽  
Dynamic Pricing ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Road Pricing ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Dynamic Traffic ◽  
The Road ◽  
Departure Time ◽  
Departure Time Choice

Road pricing is one of the market-based traffic control measures that can influence travel behavior to alleviate congestion on roads. This paper addresses the effects of uniform (constant, fixed) and time-varying (step) tolls on the travel behavior of users on the road network. The problem of determining optimal prices in a dynamic traffic network is considered by applying second-best tolling scenarios imposing tolls only to a subset of links on the network and considering elastic demand. The optimal toll design problem is formulated as a bilevel optimization problem with the road authority (on the upper level) setting the tolls and the travelers (on the lower level) who respond by changing their travel decisions (route and departure time choice). To formulate the optimal toll design problem, the so-called mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) formulation was used, considering the dynamic nature of traffic flows on the one hand and dynamic pricing on the other. Until now, the MPEC formulation has been applied in static cases only. The model structure comprises three interrelated levels: (a) dynamic network loading, (b) route choice and departure time choice, and (c) road pricing level. For solving the optimal toll design problem in dynamic networks, a simple search algorithm is used to determine the optimal toll pattern leading to optimization of the objective function of the road authority subject to dynamic traffic assignment constraints. Nevertheless, uniform and time-varying pricing is analyzed, and a small hypothetical network is considered.

Comparison of Second-Best and Third-Best Tolling Schemes on a Road Network

2005 ◽  
Vol 1932 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
André De Palma ◽  
Moez Kilani ◽  
Robin Lindsey
Keyword(s):  
Road Network ◽  
Road Pricing ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Dynamic Traffic ◽  
Flow Curves ◽  
Second Best ◽  
The Road ◽  
Demand Elasticities ◽  
Speed Flow ◽  
Extensive Information

Much of the road pricing literature has focused on deriving second-best optimal tolls when only parts of a network can be tolled or tolling is constrained in other ways. A drawback of second-best tolling is that it requires extensive information on speed–flow curves and demand elasticities throughout the network. Such information is often not readily available, and errors in estimating key parameters could result in tolls that are nonoptimal or even welfare reducing. The purpose of this paper is to explore a simpler alternative policy, dubbed “no-queue” tolling, whereby time-varying tolls are imposed selectively on a road network with the objective of eliminating queuing on the tolled links. No-queue tolling is an example of third-best pricing because the effects of the tolls on other links are disregarded. To explore the merits of no-queue tolling, a dynamic traffic simulator (METROPOLIS) was used to compute no-queue tolls for individual links and cordon rings on a laboratory network. For comparison, second-best flat and time-varying tolls were also computed on the same sets of links. Two results stood out. First, even without accounting for the likely computational and acceptability advantages of no-queue tolling, it appeared to dominate flat tolling and performed relatively well compared to step tolling. Second, the benefits from no-queue tolling exhibited approximately constant returns with respect to the number of links that are tolled. This suggests that no-queue tolling could fruitfully be selectively implemented now, rather than waiting a decade or more for comprehensive road pricing to become feasible.

scholarly journals Can Road Toll Convince Car Travelers to Adjust Their Departure Times? Accounting for the Effect of Choice Behavior under Long and Short Holidays

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10470
Author(s):  
Haiyan Zhu ◽  
Hongzhi Guan ◽  
Yan Han ◽  
Wanying Li
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Choice Behavior ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Stated Preference ◽  
Revealed Preference ◽  
The Road ◽  
Departure Time ◽  
Departure Time Choice ◽  
Mnl Model ◽  
Peak Travel

The adjustment of road toll is an important measure that can alleviate road traffic congestion by convincing car travelers to travel during off-peak times. In order to reduce congestion on the expressway on the first day of a holiday, factors that affect the departure times of holiday travelers must be comprehensively understood to determine the best strategy to persuade car travelers to avoid peak travel times. This paper takes holiday car travelers as the research object and explores the characteristics and rules of departure time choice behavior for different holiday lengths. Based on Utility Maximization Theory, a multinomial logit (MNL) model of departure time choice for a three-day short holiday and a seven-day long holiday was established. Model calibration and elastic analysis were carried out using Revealed Preference/Stated Preference (RP/SP) survey data. Additionally, the influence of the highway toll policy on departure times for long and short holidays was analyzed. The results show that the rate of first-day departures is much higher than that of other departure times for both short and long vacations under the current policy of free holiday passage on highways. Factors such as trip duration, size of the tourist group, the number of visits, travel range, travel time, monthly income, occupation, age and road toll have a significant influence on the departure time decisions of holiday car travelers, and the effect and degree of influence are markedly different for different holiday lengths. The effects of tolls for each departure time and different pricing scenarios on the choice behavior of travelers are different between long and short holidays. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the road toll policy also varies for travelers with different travel distances. This study can provide useful information for the guidance of holiday travelers, the management of holiday tolls on expressways and the formulation of holiday leave time.

scholarly journals Commuter Departure Time Choice Considering Parking Space Shortage and Commuter’s Bounded Rationality

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunqiang Xue ◽  
Huishu Fan ◽  
Hongzhi Guan
Keyword(s):  
Prospect Theory ◽  
Bounded Rationality ◽  
Parking Space ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Congestion ◽  
Practical Support ◽  
Departure Time ◽  
Parking Management ◽  
Departure Time Choice ◽  
Severe Punishment

In order to better understand how commuters decide departure time considering parking space shortage and commuters’ bounded rationality, the reference point hypothesis of prospect theory is applied in the departure time decision-making. Commuter personal perception differences, the road congestion situation, destination parking status, and other factors were also analysed in the influence of commuter departure time choice. Based on prospect theory, an experiment was designed to investigate the intention of the commuter departure time choice. The experiment results show that the commuter’s travel satisfaction and the departure time choice of the next trip are related to the parking space residual status after the commuter arrives at the destination. The satisfaction degree of the commuter is reduced, with the decrease of the remaining parking spaces. If the commuter is satisfied with the travel result, the commuter’s departure time of next trip tends to be later. In the case of illegal parking, different penalty measures may lead to different decisions of next departure time choice. A commuter tends to depart earlier when more severe punishment for illegal parking is enforced. The research results can reveal to some degree the travellers’ departure time choice behaviour when they face the risk of no parking spaces and provide a theoretical and practical support for parking management and car travelling decision.

Departure Time Choice Equilibrium and Tolling Strategies for a Bottleneck with Stochastic Capacity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiancheng Long ◽  
Hai Yang ◽  
W. Y. Szeto
Keyword(s):  
User Equilibrium ◽  
Single Step ◽  
Numerical Results ◽  
General Distribution ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Bottleneck Model ◽  
Schedule Delay ◽  
Departure Time ◽  
Stochastic Capacity ◽  
Departure Time Choice

This paper develops a bottleneck model in which the capacity of the bottleneck is assumed to be stochastic and follow a general distribution that has a positive upper bound. The user equilibrium principle in terms of mean trip cost is adopted to formulate commuters’ departure time choice in the stochastic bottleneck. We find that there exist five possible equilibrium departure patterns, which depend on both commuters’ unit costs of travel time, schedule delay early and late, and the uncertainty of the stochastic capacity of the bottleneck. All possible equilibrium departure patterns are analytically derived. Both the analytical and numerical results show that increasing the uncertainty of the capacity of the bottleneck leads to an increase of commuters’ individual mean trip cost. In addition, both a time-varying toll scheme and a single-step coarse toll scheme are designed within the proposed stochastic bottleneck model. We provide an analytical method to determine the detailed toll-charging schemes for both toll strategies. The numerical results show that the proposed toll schemes can indeed improve the efficiency of the stochastic bottleneck in terms of decreasing mean total social cost, and the time-varying toll scheme is more efficient than the single-step coarse toll scheme. However, as the uncertainty of the capacity of the bottleneck increases, the efficiency of the time-varying toll scheme decreases, whereas the efficiency of the single-step coarse toll scheme fluctuates slightly.

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