High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes: Implementation considerations and assessment for the Netherlands

High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes: Implementation considerations and assessment for the Netherlands

Dragan, G.A.

Hoogendorn, S.P. (mentor)
Pel, A.J. (mentor)
Taale, H. (mentor)
Annema, J.A. (mentor)
Katwijk, R.T. (mentor)

Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Transport & Planning

Transport, Logistics & Infrastructure

2013-03-26

With the introduction of electronic toll collection the opportunity opened for new concepts in road pricing, such as high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, express toll lanes, truck only lanes, cordon tolling, and mileage-based pricing. Whereas, the historical use of tolling has been to fund high-cost projects, it can now be used to manage congestion on a network with limited capacity. The HOT-lane concept consists of a dedicated lane, similar to the current rush-hour lanes, and it requires for single occupant vehicles (solo drivers) to pay a toll for access of use that varies based on demand, in order to be able to provide non-congested traffic conditions and reliable travel times. The consideration of implementation in the Netherlands of such a concept prompts the need for an efficient way to identify and assess the possibilities and the effects of such an implementation. Therefore the research aims at addressing all the aspects and considerations by developing quick and efficient methodology in order to identify and assess implementation possibilities in the Netherlands. Comprised of two major phases, the methodology includes all the necessary elements ranging from initial planning and the corresponding goals and objectives up to the implementation setup that provide insight on the interaction of design aspects and performance indicators. The first phase provides the steps for screening, ranking and selecting the suitable location and the corresponding conditions for the concept to be feasible. This is achieved with the used of criteria and specific indicators that ensure the fact that the chosen location enhances the potential of the concept. The second phase is more extensive as it includes all the possible design and operations options into the development of scenarios that are evaluated and adapted with the use of a modelling procedure that provides the necessary results. Besides the final evaluation, the modelling procedure provides guidance towards an optimal setup while highlighting the trade-offs between choices. The methodology is applied to specific cases in order to assess and clarify usability aspects that dictate its efficiency. Several locations are analyzed based on criteria such as congestion, reliability, demand and physical attributes and subsequently ranked with the use of determined weights. A specific location is then picked for the application of Phase 2. An adapted modelling framework is devised around a chosen existing traffic simulation model. The inclusion of several user groups is arranged (income classes) and the addition of a mode choice model for the carpooling is made. Another addition is the algorithm developed for the determination and iteration of toll values. For the inclusion of the previously mentioned aspects in the modelling procedure, several modifications had to be performed within the model. The methodology has proven to be comprehensive enough to cover most of the aspects related to the implementation and offer sufficient flexibility for adaptation according to specific purposes and needs. Further research and attention need to be considered with regards to the modelling framework. Due to the extensive behavioral aspects that can be included, adapting or even developing a traffic simulation model is a challenge. In terms of future consideration of the concept for the Netherlands, HOT-lanes should be put in relation or combination with existing dedicated managed lanes such as the rush-hour or truck only lanes.

HOT-lanes

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:7cccc62a-0eca-45cd-b43e-cf790fdda2ff

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2013 Dragan, G.A.