Road Congestion Pricing in Europe


Book Description

. . . this book is an interesting collection of papers on the topic of road congestion pricing. . . The reader should find this collection to be both interesting and informative, but also quite thought-provoking. . . The papers also provide some very useful information about projects that have not worked or have not been implemented for various reasons and lessons that can be learnt from failures to implement and failures of pricing schemes. Peter R. Stopher, International Planning Studies In February 2003, the London Congestion Charging Scheme was introduced and in 2006 a similar policy was introduced in Stockholm. In both cases automobile traffic entering the cordon declined by about 20 percent. This book evaluates these and other similar programs exploring their implications for the United States. While there is increasing interest in road pricing in the US in many individual states, the motivation is often highway financing rather than congestion relief. The contributors argue that the prospects for extensive implementation in the US remain uncertain. Nevertheless, this book illustrates that the European experience suggests political feasibility is much less of a hurdle than was once considered and that congestion pricing would have a significant impact in reducing traffic as it did in Europe. This study s value lies in the fact that it examines road pricing in the real world and not simply from a theoretical viewpoint. As a comparative study it will appeal to both policymakers and academics in transportation economics and planning, urban economics, planning and economic geography.




Congestion Charging Mechanisms for Roads


Book Description

Of the many direct and indirect methods for road use, the key alternatives for reducing road congestion are (1) cordon pricing using manual tollbooths, (2) supplementary vehicle licensing, (3) automatic vehicle identification, and (4) smart card technology.




Road Pricing


Book Description

Traffic congestion affects towns and cities everywhere and in some places it is regarded as one of the most urgent and important problems in need of a solution. Road pricing is undoubtedly recognised as an effective traffic demand management tool. The recent London congestion charging scheme seems to be showing that public and political opposition is not insurmountable. Thus, the ghost that prevented the introduction of a policy supported by transport economists for over 80 years seems to have disappeared or at least, weakened. The book contains twelve papers useful to different types of audience, such as researchers and postgraduate students, civil servants, policy makers and consultants. The first part is mainly theoretical and concentrates on second-best congestion pricing including pricing in urban contexts, the impact on the performance of the road network, optimal locations and charge levels, dynamic aspects such as time variation of tolls, potential impacts of road pricing on costs and service quality of public transport buses, and efficiency costs and transport sector effects of different types of pricing when they guarantee a balanced budget per mode. The second part contains chapters that describe the schemes in place around the world such as Singapore, Norway, London, and the US. The volume is an update of the state of the art on the subject and the first one to have been written and appear after the London scheme was implemented and to contain an assessment of its preliminary impacts.




Paying to Drive


Book Description




The Economics of Urban Transportation


Book Description

This new edition of the seminal textbook The Economics of Urban Transportation incorporates the latest research affecting the design, implementation, pricing, and control of transport systems in towns and cities. The book offers an economic framework for understanding the societal impacts and policy implications of many factors including congestion, traffic safety, climate change, air quality, COVID-19, and newly important developments such as ride-hailing services, electric vehicles, and autonomous vehicles. Rigorous in approach and making use of real-world data and econometric techniques, the third edition features a new chapter on the special challenges of managing the energy that powers transportation systems. It provides fully updated coverage of well-known topics and a rigorous treatment of new ones. All of the basic topics needed to apply economics to urban transportation are included: Forecasting demand for transportation services under various conditions Measuring costs, including those incurred by users and incorporating two new tools to describe congestion in dense urban areas Setting prices under practical constraints Evaluating infrastructure investments Understanding how private and public sectors interact to provide services Written by three of the field’s leading researchers, The Economics of Urban Transportation is essential reading for students, researchers, and practicing professionals in transportation economics, planning, engineering, or related disciplines. With a focus on workable models that can be adapted to future needs, it provides tools for a rapidly changing world.




Intelligent Vehicular Networks and Communications


Book Description

Intelligent Vehicular Network and Communications: Fundamentals, Architectures and Solutions begins with discussions on how the transportation system has transformed into today’s Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). It explores the design goals, challenges, and frameworks for modeling an ITS network, discussing vehicular network model technologies, mobility management architectures, and routing mechanisms and protocols. It looks at the Internet of Vehicles, the vehicular cloud, and vehicular network security and privacy issues. The book investigates cooperative vehicular systems, a promising solution for addressing current and future traffic safety needs, also exploring cooperative cognitive intelligence, with special attention to spectral efficiency, spectral scarcity, and high mobility. In addition, users will find a thorough examination of experimental work in such areas as Controller Area Network protocol and working function of On Board Unit, as well as working principles of roadside unit and other infrastructural nodes. Finally, the book examines big data in vehicular networks, exploring various business models, application scenarios, and real-time analytics, concluding with a look at autonomous vehicles. Proposes cooperative, cognitive, intelligent vehicular networks Examines how intelligent transportation systems make more efficient transportation in urban environments Outlines next generation vehicular networks technology




Congestion Charging in London


Book Description

Ken Livingstone was elected Mayor of London on a platform that included a congestion charge for central London, a policy that became reality on 17 February 2003. Richards uses his experience as Director of a £2.5 million Government congestion charging study, as one of those who created the scheme Livingstone adopted and as advisor to the London Assembly, to provide a critical record of the introduction of the London Congestion Charge, and of its implications for congestion charging elsewhere.




ITF Round Tables Implementing Congestion Charges


Book Description

Recent advances in the scientific understanding of urban traffic congestion have only strengthened the already solid case for congestion charges as an element of a successful urban transport policy. This report draws lessons from attempts to introduce congestion charges.