Toll Choice and Stochastic User Equilibrium: Ticking All the Boxes

Abstract

Stochastic user equilibrium is a behaviorally realistic framework for strategic demand modeling and forecasting in cities/regions where there are multiple tolled facilities, especially when it comes to patronage forecasting for existing or planned tolled facilities. However, there is currently no algorithm available in the literature or in commercial software that provides a comprehensive approach for stochastic user equilibrium assignment that addresses the generation of route choice sets for tolled roads, path overlap, and high levels of convergence. This paper presents a novel choice set generation algorithm combined with the path-size logit model and the bi-conjugate Frank-Wolfe equilibrium assignment in a comprehensive algorithm for forecasting tolled road patronage, along with the results of its application to a real-life model in Brisbane, Australia.