National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: Chapter 4 - Integrating Performance Evaluation and Measurement with Public Outreach
Page 81
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13648.
×
Page 81
Page 82
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13648.
×
Page 82
Page 83
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13648.
×
Page 83
Page 84
Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Conclusions." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13648.
×
Page 84

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

5.1 Providing a Framework to Approach Performance Measurement for Congestion Pricing Projects These guidelines provide a framework for measuring and evaluating the performance of con- gestion pricing projects. The findings presented in the guidelines are informed by case studies focusing on actual performance measurement practices in use on 12 congestion pricing programs in operation in the United States and abroad. The overarching findings from the research as captured within these guidelines are as follows: • Performance measurement for pricing projects should reflect the goals that underpin them. Although the most common goals behind pricing projects are congestion reduction and revenue generation, the rationale for implementing congestion is different from project to project. Local issues and concerns regarding the use of congestion pricing also vary, and the performance measures used to evaluate pricing projects should illuminate the different issues in play. • With a vast number of possibilities in terms of physical configuration, toll rates and collection technologies, operational policies, and transit components, no two pricing projects are alike. Similarly the performance measures used to track pricing projects vary from project to project and individual metrics are often tied to specific features of a facility. • No single prescribed set of performance measures should be incorporated into performance monitoring programs. Rather, project sponsors should tailor performance programs to align with project goals, community concerns, agency needs, project configuration and operational policies, and the resources available for monitoring purposes. To facilitate the identification of trends and best practices, the guidelines have grouped existing congestion pricing applications into three forms: • Variably priced managed lanes involve charging variably priced tolls along designated highway lanes, such as HOT lanes or express toll lanes, in order to provide improved travel conditions to eligible users. • Toll facilities with variable pricing incorporate “full facility” pricing, where all lanes of a facility are tolled at variably priced rates in response to time of day and travel demand. • Cordon and area pricing strategies are designed to mitigate traffic congestion in urban envi- ronments by charging vehicles as they enter a designated zone or travel across a set boundary, potentially with higher prices during peak periods. The research has found that the goals underpinning congestion pricing projects tend to have somewhat different focuses, depending on the form of pricing involved. With variably priced managed lanes, goals are often focused on improved traffic performance in the priced corridor. This objective can be expressed in terms of person and vehicular throughput, travel speeds, and other highway operations metrics. Performance monitoring usually involves 81 C H A P T E R 5 Conclusions

tracking the same parameters on the managed lanes and the general-purpose lanes and demon- strating that conditions do not deteriorate with the introduction of additional vehicles on the managed lanes. Changes in the general-purpose lanes may also be measurable but are not generally obvious to motorists using them. With projects that add major capacity to a highway corridor, revenue generation may also be included as a fundamental goal, like any other toll road, with the understanding that revenue generation and improved traffic performance are not mutually exclusive. With variably priced toll facilities, goals normally involve meeting critical revenue thresholds while reducing congestion without compromising revenue requirements. Given that most toll facilities are financed with bonds leveraging toll revenue and involve conservative reserve and coverage ratio policies, it is essential that the introduction of variably priced tolls does not reduce revenue generated. However, the rationale for using variably priced tolls is to manage congestion during peak periods, so performance monitoring programs for priced toll facilities must document traffic performance in the corridor as well as revenue generation. With cordon and area pricing, goals normally involve enhancing regional sustainability and quality of life, which can be expressed through such metrics as congestion reduction, vehicle emis- sion levels, and economic competitiveness. Given that cordon and area pricing affects travel behavior across an entire metropolitan region, rather than individual corridors, the physical scope of performance measurement programs for this pricing form is more expansive than with other pricing forms focused on specific corridors. Revenue generation is also a common goal with cor- don and area pricing applications, and a key parameter in this area is net revenue or financial performance expressed as gross revenue minus operating costs. Although no two pricing projects are the same, similar issues and concerns do arise with all three forms of pricing. One issue is achieving political consensus on who is tolled, who is not, and what maximum toll rates should be. Another common concern is how the proceeds from congestion pricing will be used. Both of these issues affect equity concerns, which are often mit- igated by using some of the revenue generated by these projects to support transit improvements and enhance travel options in areas where pricing is used. Performance monitoring programs for congestion pricing projects must also address these important issues by documenting base- line conditions prior to the implementation of pricing and demonstrating how conditions change once the pricing project is active. Although no formal or prescribed process is identified in the guidelines, the research indi- cates that it is helpful to assemble a multidisciplinary team composed of relevant staff from the agency sponsoring the congestion pricing project and other concerned stakeholder groups to guide the development of performance monitoring programs for pricing projects. The research also finds that the level of detail for congestion pricing project performance monitoring pro- grams should generally be commensurate with the level of public interest and concern with the use of pricing. These guidelines identify an array of different performance measures that have been used to monitor the performance of congestion pricing projects across eight broad analysis areas. The guidelines review these measures and identify those (1) used most commonly and (2) generally perceived to provide higher value and useful information on different aspects of the performance of congestion pricing projects. In addition, the guidelines discuss which types of stakeholder groups would likely be interested in the different performance indicators, as well as the comparative cost and ease with which the information may be obtained. With these different components, the guidelines provide potential sponsors of congestion pric- ing projects with a contextual framework for approaching performance monitoring programs for pricing projects. The guidelines offer a menu of performance measures arrayed across a broad set 82 Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects

of analysis areas, which can be used to create tailored performance monitoring programs designed to meet agency needs, reflect the interests of local stakeholders, and align with resources available for performance evaluation. Finally, the context and background against which information is gathered through perfor- mance monitoring programs for congestion pricing projects must be assessed for their effects and possible influence on the findings of these programs. Even the results of the most thoughtful per- formance monitoring programs may be influenced by externalities ranging from ongoing con- struction activities to fluctuations in the price of fuel to regional or national economic trends. 5.2 Outreach and Communication— Day-of-Opening and Beyond These guidelines have emphasized how effective outreach and communication relate to the ultimate success of congestion pricing projects. Project sponsors must recognize that all eyes will be on congestion pricing programs during their first days of operation. The public and their elected officials will have little patience with pricing programs that appear to not deliver on the promises described in marketing and outreach efforts leading up to facility opening. Project spon- sors must be able to provide daily data docu- menting the performance of new facilities as soon as they open. Travelers, the media, and community offi- cials will draw many conclusions—accurate and inaccurate—about the performance of pricing programs during those first important days. Depending on the pricing form used, the public’s observations will likely include such issues as • Did the introduction of pricing save me time (volume, speed, accidents/incidents)? • Were the priced facilities easy to access? Were access locations clear to users? • Were the priced facilities easy to exit? Were exit locations clear to users? • What was traffic like in the adjacent general- purpose lanes (volume, speed, accidents/ incidents)? • Was there visible enforcement? • How much money was collected? • How many carpools used the priced lanes? • How many SOVs used the priced lanes? Conclusions 83 A Glimpse of the Future in San Diego: Integrating Real-Time Performance Monitoring Across Modes As these guidelines were being finalized, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) was formulating its plans to use a $9 mil- lion Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) grant from USDOT to develop a platform to integrate real-time performance monitoring data from systems in the San Diego region to track the performance of the highway system, transit vehicles, and arterial streets. The system, which will include data collected from the dynamic tolling ETC system used to operate the I-15 Express Lanes, ramp metering locations, loop detectors, videocameras, traffic lights, transit vehicles, and parking stalls in park-and-ride lots, among others, will be used to detect incidents and deploy a coordinated response under different conditions, including normal operations, special events, periods of heavy congestion, traffic incidents on highways or arterial streets, transit incidents, and natural disasters. The ICM approach was designed to use the strengths of San Diego’s different transportation management systems, as well as its travel demand model, which is being used to test different management plans and formulate business procedures for implementing them. San Diego’s ICM approach provides a glimpse of the future when performance management will not be practiced on a facility-specific basis, but rather across multiple components of the regional trans- portation system. For example, if a traffic incident were to occur on the I-15 in the a.m. peak near Downtown San Diego, the ICM sys- tem could be used to suspend tolling on the managed lanes and direct motorists in the general-purpose lanes to divert to the man- aged lanes or local arterial streets or take transit. The system would also be able to direct drivers to the nearest park-and-ride station and provide real-time information on the number of available park- ing spaces and the arrival time and number of seats available on the next bus traveling into Downtown. In the future, performance monitoring data on managed lanes will be just one of many data strands that will enable all components of a region’s transportation network to be managed in an integrated fashion in response to changing conditions.

• What was the effect of pricing on transit service? • Did I see any evidence of increased transit service? Project sponsors and operators must have mechanisms in place enabling them to provide in- formation on all of the issues identified above—and likely others—on the day of opening. This information must also be analyzed to identify and facilitate any potential “day-after-opening” changes that may need to be made to ensure safe and optimal operation. These changes could include modifying operational policies, the wording on electronic signings, or the number of and location of enforcement personnel. Project sponsors should disseminate performance data immediately via a range of communi- cation channels, including websites, e-blasts, press conferences, and formal press releases. Imme- diate dissemination is vital because the media and public will be drawing their own conclusions on the performance of the pricing program based on their own observations and what they hear from users. Accurate performance data will either support or discount those observations and will put the media on notice that accuracy does matter when drawing conclusions on the use of pric- ing. It will also alert the media that the project sponsor can be depended on to provide timely and interesting information. More importantly, providing honest and accurate information about what went right, what went wrong, and how problems are being addressed will also assure the public that pricing can deliver travel-time savings and trip reliability safely and effectively. 84 Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects

Next: Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initialisms »
Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects Get This Book
×
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 694: Evaluation and Performance Measurement of Congestion Pricing Projects is designed to help transportation agencies select or develop measures to evaluate congestion-pricing projects; collect the necessary data; track performance; and communicate the results to decision makers, users, and the general public.

A companion document to NCHRP Report 694 was published as NCHRP Web-Only Document 174: Performance Measurement and Evaluation of Tolling and Congestion Pricing Projects, which provides an overview of the purpose, scope, and methodology, and a complete compilation of the work products that were used to develop NCHRP Report 694.

The PDF of this report has some information not supplied in the original print version. Be advised that inclusion of this information has affected the layout of Appendix A and may affect printing.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!