A Road Pricing Model for Congested Highways Based on Link Densities

Abstract EN

A road pricing model is presented that determines tolls for congested highways.

The main contribution of this paper is to include density explicitly in the pricing scheme and not just flow and time.

The methodology solves a nonlinear constrained optimization problem whose objective function maximizes toll revenue or highway use (2 scenarios).

The results show that the optimal tolls depend on highway design and the level of congestion.

The model parameters are estimated from a Chile’s highway data.

Significant differences were found between the highway’s observed tolls and the optimal toll levels for the two scenarios.

The proposed approach could be applied to either planned highway concessions with recovery of capital costs or the extension or retendering of existing concessions.