Cordon pricing consistent with the physics of overcrowding

Abstract

This paper describes the modeling of recurring congestion in a network. It is shown that the standard economic models of marginal cost cannot describe precisely traffic congestion in networks during time-dependent conditions. Following a macroscopic traffic approach, we describe the equilibrium solution for a congested network in the no-toll case. A dynamic model of cordon-based congestion pricing (such as for the morning commute) for networks is developed consistent with the physics of traffic.Ê The paper combines VickreyÕs theory with a macroscopic traffic model, which is readily observable with existing monitoring technologies. The paper also examines some policy implications of the cordon-based pricing to treat equity and reliability issues, i.e. in what mobility level a city should choose to operate. An application of the model in a downtown area shows that these schemes can improve mobility and relieve congestion in cities.

Document type: Part of book or chapter of book

Original document

The different versions of the original document can be found in:

• http://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/11299/179992/1/CordonPricingOvercrowding.pdf

DOIS: 10.1007/978-1-4419-0820-9_11 10.1007/978-1-4419-0820-9