Citation

Huang C, Burris MW. Case Stud. Transp. Policy 2015; 3(2): 137-150.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, World Conference on Transport Research Society, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.cstp.2014.12.005

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The price of gas has fluctuated dramatically since 2008 and travelers' response to this has been generally as expected. Relatively little change in behavior to begin, but as prices continued to rise we have seen a shift to vehicles with higher fuel efficiencies and a shift to alternative modes (transit and bike/pedestrian). One thing that has not been examined is potential route shifts, to or from toll facilities. Many toll facilities offer an uncongested and more direct route to a traveler's destination. In theory, as gas prices increase the use of toll facilities would also increase. However, some toll facilities experienced the opposite effect. The cost of gas increased to a point where some travelers refuse to pay any more for their trip, including paying a toll, despite the fact the toll route may offer significant gas savings. This research examined the impact of changing gas prices on travelers' choice of routes, focusing on toll route usage. Travel demand elasticity estimates for toll routes with respect to gas price were inelastic and mostly negative. Additionally, the average elasticity (−0.06) was smaller than those found in the literature for non-toll facilities (average approximately −0.25). This would indicate that either (a) toll facility users were less impacted by changes in gas price, or more likely, (b) some travelers were switching to toll facilities as gas prices rise. Thus, toll facilities were more insulated from downturns in traffic volumes resulting from increases in gas price.

Language: en