Dynamic Value Pricing as Instrument for Better Utilization of High-Occupancy Toll Lanes: San Diego I-15 Case

Author(s):  
Janusz Supernak ◽  
Duane Steffey ◽  
Christine Kaschade

Selected results are presented of the Traffic Study, one of 12 studies conducted by San Diego State University for the I-15 Congestion (Value) Pricing Project in San Diego, California, a 3-year federal demonstration that converted underutilized high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes into a high-occupancy toll (HOT) facility. The studies addressed traffic and traveler-related aspects, as well as economic, equity, and public relations issues. The Traffic Study constituted the core of the evaluation effort. One of the project's main objectives was better utilization of the express lanes to carry more traffic during peak commuting periods. This study examines the possibility that dynamic, traffic-sensitive value pricing, represented by the FasTrak phase of the project, is uniquely suited to improve both utilization and volume distribution during peak periods while effectively controlling level of service on the facility. Measures of utilization and volume distribution were defined and studied in spring and fall waves of the study. The study confirms statistically significant improvements in both peak-period utilization and volume distribution across the study waves. The results strongly suggest that the FasTrak program's dynamic fee structure was able to create desirable redistribution of a portion of express lane traffic from the middle of the peak to the shoulders. The fixed-fee structure of ExpressPass, the preceding program, was not able to create such redistribution. Despite the steady increase of express lane volume during the entire 3-year demonstration, the comfortable level of service C required by law was maintained at virtually all times.

Author(s):  
Janusz Supernak ◽  
Christine Kaschade ◽  
Duane Steffey

Selected results are presented of the Traffic Study, one of 12 studies conducted by San Diego State University for the I-15 Congestion (Value) Pricing Project in San Diego, a 3-year demonstration. The focus is on the project's impact on travel times and their distribution on both the main lanes and the express lanes of I-15 for both ExpressPass and FasTrak phases of the project. Specifically addressed is the issue of reliability of on-time arrival enjoyed by the FasTrak subscribers and the high variability of travel times for the I-15 travelers who use only main lanes of I-15 for their commute. Examination of the ramp and freeway delays shows that in the worst-case scenario, FasTrak subscribers who use express lanes can save up to 20 min avoiding delay on the I-15 main lanes. This finding agrees with the drivers’ perceptions about their time savings when using FasTrak. Travel-time changes during the duration of the project also are examined. There were substantial year-to-year changes in travel times along the I-15 main lanes and the I-8 lanes used as control. The travel-time profile along the I-15 main lanes differed significantly from the profile along I-8, the control corridor, in both a.m. and p.m. peak periods.


2012 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-592
Author(s):  
Eric Van Young

Paul Vanderwood, Professor Emeritus of History at San Diego State University, died in San Diego onOctober 10, 2011, at the age of 82. A distinguished and innovative historian of modern Mexico, Vanderwood authored or co-authored several books, mostly dealing with the political, social, and cultural history of Mexico between about 1860 and the mid-twentieth century. The four works for which he is best known are Disorder and Progress (1982), The Power of God Against the Guns ofGovernment (1998), Juan Soldado (2004), and Satan's Playground (2010), and they are discussed extensively in this interview.


Author(s):  
R.K. Shautaeva ◽  
O.A. Petryanina

The relevance of the direction chosen for research is multifactorial. First, there is a steady increase in attacks on property by deception or abuse of trust. Second, the emergence of new forms of fraudulent activities requiring a symmetrical response from government agencies. Third, the offensive, not always error-free development of criminal policy in the form of the creation of new legal and technical mechanisms to counter the considered type of criminal deviant behavior of selfish orientation. All this prompted us to identify and consider the most significant methodological problems in the area taken for research in the form of their demonstration, as well as proposals for directions for their solution. The first criminal law flaw in the state strategy in the fight against fraud is the fallacy in the systematization of the crimes reflected in Art. 159-159of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The substitution of the significance of public relations protected by the norms included in these articles caused the imbalance in the Special Part of the Criminal Code. RF. The second methodological problem is the imbalance in the cost criteria of Art. 159-159of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which form the basis for their criminalization and differentiation. The third problem is the fact that there are separate elements of fraud with their fixation in separate articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, depending on the areas of encroachment. In the article, on the basis of the conducted critical analysis and the presented argumentation, directions for resolving the noted methodological problems, theoretical, applied and legislative format, are proposed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Soheil Sibdari ◽  
Mansoureh Jeihani

This paper shows how tolling (or pricing) strategies can be used to control the congestion levels of both untolled and high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes. Using a user-equilibrium method, the paper calculates the number of travelers on each route during the peak period and provides a numerical analysis that determines the distribution of travelers for different tolling strategies. It shows that with the right tolling strategy some travelers who initially plan to use the untolled lane during the peak period will change both their routes (i.e., select the HOT lane) and departure times (i.e., depart earlier or later). Using this result, the paper compares static and dynamic pricing strategies and shows that with a dynamic strategy a larger profit can be earned and congestion reduced in the untolled lane.


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