Liberating road users: Options for progress. Liberating road users at ADC 2 September 24, 2010 How are road users constrained? Governments determine

Liberating road users:

Options for progress

Liberating road users at ADCLiberating road users at ADC22

September 24, 2010September 24, 2010

How are road users constrained?

Governments determine Charges for road useAllocation of revenuesProvision of new capacity

Two plausible approaches

towards market system

Provide express toll lanes

Introduce per-mile charging



Express toll lanes Introduced in 1995, on 10 miles of

California’s State Route 91Tolls Electronically collected and

prices adjusted to reduce congestion to to minimal levels

Travelers have the choice of paying tolls to save time

Used by members of all income classes



“HOT” networks in eight US urban areas

Proposed in 2003 by Bob Poole and Ken Orski in “Reason” Policy Study. Updated in 2006 as chapter 19 of “Street Smart”.

Cost of 8 networks could be $50 billion

Term “HOT” [“High-Occupancy or Toll”] unfortunate, as exemptions for high-occupancy vehicles are damaging



Per-mile chargingRecommended in 2009 by

Congressional Commission, because fuel taxes were not producing enough revenues to satisfy politicians

Charges could vary for different roads and on different times of the day

Would be desirable as a stage in commercializing roads — moving them into the market economy

For a market in road space to work:

All roads should be tolled

Road users should pay the road providers, segment by segment

Only GPS-based systems can meet these requirements



GPS-based charging systems

Vehicles carry meters, which record distances travelled

Distances, but no trip details, transmitted to billers

Billers debit road users Billers credit road providers Eliminates need for government road

financing



Siemens On-Board Unit



Problems with GPS-based charging systems

Fears (groundless) that vehicles could be “tracked” to invade privacy

Fears (well-grounded) that, in the USA, cost-based road-use charges would exceed current charges paid via fuel taxes



How, then, to introduce GPS-based road pricing?

Not all vehicles can be equipped at once, so offer rewards and seek volunteers in test areas

Rewards can include: Distance-based insurance premiums Remission of annual license fees Easier street parking



Plausible next steps: Accelerate the provision of express toll

lanes Introduce trials of voluntary GPS-based

road-use fees, as alternative to existing road-use taxes

Oregon already had successful pilot project

Documents

Liberating road users: Options for progress. Liberating road users at ADC 2 September 24, 2010 How are road users constrained? Governments determine