Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
reform. Charges could vary by type of road, time of day, traf
c conditions, and
miles traveled.
Mileage-based charges would offer a more stable long term revenue base. Their
implementation, however, would require public support and technical testing of the
concept in a demonstration project.
19.4.3 Pay-as-You-Drive Insurance
Pilot studies of mileage-based user fees in Minnesota indicated that converting the
statewide
fixed-cost insurance to per-mile cost insurance would reduce the vehicle
miles traveled by 6.6 % on weekdays and 8.1 % on weekends [
7
].
“
A national elasticity-based estimate produced consistent results, suggesting that
a pay-as-you-drive insurance charge of $0.06/mile could reduce total VMT by
10 %.
[
7
].
However, that these results come from a sample of the population that partici-
pated in the pilot studies, and they might not represent the impact of on VMT if
pay-as-you-drive insurance were implemented for the whole population of insured
drivers.
”
19.5 Implications and Guidelines
Pricing has emerged as an important strategy for reducing travel demand or and/or
generating revenues to
finance transportation improvements. The demand reduc-
tions vary with the speci
c type and location of application. Electronic road pricing,
as applied on an area wide or cordon area basis in Europe and Singapore, achieves
substantial traf
c demand reductions. But in the United States it is presently dif
cult
to implement.
Dynamically priced toll facilities spread the peak demand to earlier or later
times, thus reducing peak congestion.
Variably priced managed freeway lanes provide congestion-free travel for
motorists willing to pay, but usually have had little effect on the freeway congestion
in the general use lanes.
Variably priced VMT charges (replacing or as a complement to motor fuel taxes)
provide a long term alternative for congestion relief. Such charges could apply to
freeways and to major arterials, and they could vary by traf
c conditions. But they
will require political support in changing the motor fuel taxes as the primary
revenue source.
The following guidelines are suggested for consideration when pricing is used as
a strategy to reduce congestion:
