Economics and Finance

A Futures Market for Demand Responsive Travel Pricing

June 25, 2024

Authors: Nicholas Fournier, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Researcher, SafeTREC, PATH, University of California, Berkeley; Anthony Patire, Ph.D., Research & Development Engineer, PATH, University of California, Berkeley; and Alexander Skabardonis, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley.

Abstract:

Dynamic toll pricing based on demand can increase transportation revenue while also incentivizing travelers to avoid peak traffic periods. However, given the unpredictable nature of...

A Futures Market for Demand Responsive Travel Pricing

Fournier, Nicholas, PhD
Patire, Anthony, PhD
Skabardonis, Alexander, PhD
2023

Dynamic toll pricing based on demand can increase transportation revenue while also incentivizing travelers to avoid peak traffic periods. However, given the unpredictable nature of traffic, travelers lack the information necessary to accurately predict congestion, so dynamic pricing has minimal effect on demand. Dynamic toll pricing also poses equity concerns for those who lack other travel options. This research explores a potential remedy to these concerns by using a simple “futures market” pricing mechanism in which travelers can lock in a toll price for expected trips by prepaying for...

Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Transit Smart Cards

Iseki, Hiroyuki, PhD
Demisch, Alexander
Taylor, Brian D., PhD
Yoh, Allison C., MA
2008

Smart cards are gaining momentum as transit agencies across the country have been implementing them as a fare medium. Smart cards hold the promise of revolutionizing the way riders use transit, and how transit systems operate. But in order to adopt smart cards, transit agencies must purchase new equipment and upgrade their entire fare collection system – a very expensive process. In addition, many of the oft-touted benefits of smart cards are vague, and it is not at all certain if they are worth the high cost of implementation.This study examines how transportation agencies in three...

Commercial Vehicle Parking in California: Exploratory Evaluation of the Problem and Solutions

Rodier, Caroline J., PhD
Shaheen, Susan A., PhD
Allen, Denise M.
Dix, Brenda
2010

California is home to major international ports in Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland, as well as the second largest border crossing between Mexico and the U.S. California’s highways are critical commercial links from these ports of entry to the nation and carry more commercial vehicle truck traffic than any other state in the U.S. Given the high volume of truck travel in California, it is not surprising that there is a serious shortage of truck parking in the state. This shortage negatively impacts economic productivity, roadway safety, air quality, and public health. This report begins...

An Evaluation of the Accessibility Benefits of Commuter Rail in Eastern Massachusetts Using Spatial Hedonic Price Functions

Armstrong, RJ
Rodriguez, DA
2006

We estimate spatial hedonic price functions to examine local and regional accessibility benefits of commuter rail service in Eastern Massachusetts, while controlling for proximity-related negative externalities and other confounding influences. The data include 1,860 single-family residential properties from four municipalities with commuter rail service, and three municipalities without commuter rail service. We find some evidence of the capitalization of accessibility to commuter rail stations. Two model specifications suggest that properties located in municipalities with commuter...

Small Cars In Neighborhoods

Bosselmann, Peter C.
Cullinane, Daniel
Garrison, William L.
Maxey, Carl M.
1993

Focusing on neighborhood travel, this study first reviews the development of vehicles and roads suited to such travel. It then considers community development trends that might encourage or thwart the adoption and use of such vehicles. Demands for vehicles and travel patterns are then treated, followed by discussions of safety and regulation topics and cost benefit issues.

GPS-Aided Gyroscope-Free Inertial Navigation Systems

Park, Sungsu
Tan, Chin-Woo
2002

A gyroscope-free inertial navigation system uses only accelerometers to compute navigation trajectories. It is a low-cost navigation system, but its output error diverges at a rate that is an order faster than that of a conventional gyroscope-based system. So integration with an external reference system, such as the Global Positioning System, is necessary for long-term navigation applications. In this pa-per, an integrated GPS and gyroscope-free INS system is designed to achieve stable long-term navigation. The linear and nonlinear error models of a gyroscope-free INS are derived and are...

Monitoring The San Francisco Bay Area Freeway Network Using Probe Vehicles And Random Access Radio Channel

Linnartz, Jean-paul M. G.
Westerman, Marcel
Hamerslag, Rudi
1994

In this report, the authors describe a method of collecting real-time traffic data from probe vehicles automatically sending traffic reports to one or m ore base stations, connected to a traffic center by a wired communications network. Analyzing and computing road traffic and message traffic flows in the San Francisco Bay Area, the authors study several multi-disciplinary aspects of this data collection technique. The results presented in this report reveal that random access (ALOHA) transmission of traffic messages is a (spectrum) efficient, inexpensive and flexible method for collecting...

Assessing the Value of TMCs and Methods to Evaluate the Long Term Effects of ITS: Measuring Congestion, Productivity and Benefi t Flow from Implementation

Gillen, David
Cooper, Douglas
2004

The study carries out an evaluation of TMCs (traffic management centers) using three methodologies; case studies, performance based regressions and time series analysis. The study is an extension of previous work that assessed the contribution of different types of intelligent transportation investments and initiatives. However, this research sought to distinguish the separate contributions of the ITS investments from the synergies of integration under a traffic management center. Secondly, the research investigated the time dimension of benefits where we investigated if there was an 'S'...

Smart Cards, Slow Deployment: Findings from Interviews with U.S. Transit Agencies

Iseki, Hiroyuki
Taylor, Brian D.
Yoh, Allison
2008

This report summarizes findings from interviews with transit officials at seven agencies in North America about smart card evaluations, expectations, and implementation. As part of the project, “Designing a Policy Framework for a Statewide Transit Smart Card System,” this report was preceded by a literature review of smart card projects and an online survey of transit agencies’ knowledge of and interest in interoperable smart card systems for fare collection. The literature review found a lot of booster-like enthusiasm for smart cards, but few studies that have rigorously evaluated smart...