Liberating road users:
Options for progress
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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
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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
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“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
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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
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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
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Siemens On-Board Unit
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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
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September 24, 2010September 24, 2010
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
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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