Traffic Demand Management Policies Research Articles

Measuring acceptance of tradable credit scheme and its effect on behavioral intention through theory of planned behavior

Public support is crucial for the successful implementation of congestion charging schemes. The Tradable Credits Scheme (TCS), a novel concept built upon the cap-and-trade principle, is believed to possess qualities of effectiveness and fairness that should lead to greater public approval. This study investigates the level of acceptance of TCS among the public and its impact on the propensity to shift travel modes in the TCS framework. In this study, we used the Theory of Planned Behavior, encompassing components such as attitudes toward TCS, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control and assessed the perceived effectiveness and equity of TCS. Data were acquired through an online survey involving 544 participants in China. The findings indicate that public acceptance of TCS is significantly influenced by subjective norms and attitudes toward TCS. In turn, behavioral intention is indirectly shaped by these factors, with acceptance serving as a mediator. Perceived behavioral control exerts a direct influence on behavioral intention, while perceived effectiveness and equity positively impact both the acceptance of TCS and behavioral intention. Moreover, latent profile analysis was used to determine the influence of various factors on TCS acceptance, following which we categorized the participants into four distinct groups. The results show that age, city scale, income, holding a driving license or not, car ownership, necessity through congested areas, main transportation modes, and the frequency of using different travel modes all affect the distribution of individuals in support or rejection groups Notably, over one-third of participants express TCS acceptance, with most holding a neutral stance, indicative of TCS's potential for public acceptance with effective guidance and comprehensive explanation. In summary, this research provides novel insights into the multifaceted factors that influence individuals' acceptance of TCS and offers valuable assistance in promoting an innovative traffic demand management policy.

Incentive-based electric vehicle charging for managing bottleneck congestion

We propose an incentive-based traffic demand management policy to alleviate traffic congestion on a road stretch that creates a bottleneck for the commuters. The incentive targets electric vehicles owners by proposing a discount on the energy price they use to charge their vehicles if they are flexible in their departure time. We show that, with a sufficient monetary budget, it is possible to completely eliminate the traffic congestion and we compute the optimal discount. We analyse also the case of limited budget, when the congestion cannot be completely eliminated. We compute analytically the policy minimising the congestion and estimate the level of inefficiency for different budgets. We corroborate our theoretical findings with numerical simulations that allow us to highlight the power of the proposed method in providing practical advice for the design of policies.

The impact of traffic demand management policy mix on commuter travel choices

The experience of traffic demand management policy in many cities shows that a single policy instrument has limited effect and may have side effects on other contemporaneous policies; therefore, formulating a policy mix is a more effective way to solve urban traffic problems. However, the bulk of previous literature has focused on the impact of single policy instruments, neglecting the growing interest in understanding the role played by the different combinations of policy instruments. Therefore, using a 6*3 matrix typology, this paper provides an empirical impact analysis of selected policy mixes in inducing sustainable travel behavior and reducing private car use. This study also designs orthogonal experiments and adopts stated preference questionnaires to analyze the main effects and full combined effects of packages of policy instruments through multinomial logit models. The results show that the effect of a policy mix is often not better than that of a single policy and demonstrate the need for careful systemic design. A balanced-designed policy mix can facilitate public transportation and help reduce traffic gridlock using a balanced combination of push, pull and systemic TDM policy instruments.

A work-life conflict perspective on telework.

Telework has been promoted for decades as one of the traffic demand management policies to alleviate congestion during peak periods and reduce work-related trips, along with other benefits. However, less clear is the role played by life stages (i.e., gender, marital status and parenthood) on telework behavior. This study investigated to which extent telework frequency associated with life stages, and how these associations could be explained based on the work-life conflict perspective. Representative data were obtained from German Microcensus 2010 (N=188,081 participants). The outcome variable was measured as ordered telework participation levels (i.e., never, infrequently and frequently). After testing for multicollinearity, a zero-inflated ordered probit regression model was applied to assess the associations between telework and family-life stages, while adjusting for individual, household, job-related and environmental characteristics. Results suggest that life stages associate with telework behavior in a complex way. Three patterns have been distinguished. Specifically, irrespective of gender and marital status, parents are less likely to telework compared to those without children. Regarding individuals without children, single individuals are more likely to telework than married ones, and males more likely than females. In contrast, for individuals with children, the partnered parents are more likely to telework than single parents, and females more likely than males. Our findings suggest that as the most important feature in family-life stages, children play a vital role in telework behavior. It not only increases both work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict, but also triggers housework re-division within couples and aggravates gender differences. Policies that support formal childcare resources could relieve the family-to-work conflict and encourage people to work at home.

Tackling Traffic Congestion with Workplace Parking Levies

On the basis of 17 interviews with employers and 272 survey responses from employees, we explore the perceptions of a Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) in Cardiff, with the aim of understanding if a WPL would be an acceptable traffic demand management policy to tackle traffic congestion. We find that employers would not be very supportive of a WPL, whilst employees would, provided employers were to absorb the costs. Despite this support, the majority of those who drive to work would not be prepared to change mode. An important theme throughout the study was the perception of public transport and active travel provision in Cardiff being inadequate. Most study participants felt that investment in public transport and active travel is needed before a WPL is introduced. We conclude that, although a WPL would not be overwhelmingly acceptable to employers and employees, it would be more acceptable than congestion charging, and there is a possibility that acceptability could be increased with the help of feedback from a public consultation.

Analysis of the Feasibility of Hov Lane of Shichang Avenue in Weihai City

Based on the experience of international traffic demand management policies, the Hov(high occupancy vehicle)has been introduced to the research on urban traffic planning and design. Through the collection and analysis of international experience in the design and operation of Hov lane, the requirement for Hov setting has been analyzed in China and the evaluation indexes of Hov lane have been proposed. By building the Hov design platform, this paper provides the methodology for the design and evaluation of Hov lane program. Through the research of this paper, we provide some scientific basis for the decision-makers and give some theoretical guidance for the Hov project in future.

Modelling transport-related pollution emissions for the synthetic baseline population of a large Canadian university

ABSTRACTLarge universities can be considered as special trip generators requiring special Traffic Demand Management (TDM) policies. Due to their unique accessibility, mixed land-use, and welcoming environment for alternative modes, they are well placed to promote active transportation, carpooling, parking management, and shuttle buses. These have direct effects on regional traffic, as well as on the total vehicular emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and other pollutants. This paper estimates transport-related pollution emissions for university population segments at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, comprising undergraduate-students, graduate students, faculty members, and staff. The data used for this study are derived from the Environmentally Aware Commuter Travel Diary Survey (EnACT) conducted in spring 2016. Initially, we generate a 100% synthetic population for the entirety of university commuters. Then, we model transport-related polluting emissions, including carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), total hydrocarbon (THC), and volatile organic compounds (VOC), based on the population features and their living zones in relation to campus areas. In this study, five zones are described for emission estimation: on-campus, inner city, suburban area, inner commuter belt, and outer commuter belt. In addition, two emission scenarios are tested, which consider the impacts of changes to transit ridership and auto driving. These scenarios demonstrate how changing the primary travel mode can greatly influence emissions volume. The empirical models provide useful insights that can be utilized to improve TDM policies of university campuses, as well as to analyze environmental mitigation scenarios.

Mobile phone records to feed activity-based travel demand models: MATSim for studying a cordon toll policy in Barcelona

Activity-based models appeared as an answer to the limitations of the traditional trip-based and tour-based four-stage models. The fundamental assumption of activity-based models is that travel demand is originated from people performing their daily activities. This is why they include a consistent representation of time, of the persons and households, time-dependent routing, and microsimulation of travel demand and traffic. In spite of their potential to simulate traffic demand management policies, their practical application is still limited. One of the main reasons is that these models require a huge amount of very detailed input data hard to get with surveys. However, the pervasive use of mobile devices has brought a valuable new source of data. The work presented here has a twofold objective: first, to demonstrate the capability of mobile phone records to feed activity-based transport models, and, second, to assert the advantages of using activity-based models to estimate the effects of traffic demand management policies. Activity diaries for the metropolitan area of Barcelona are reconstructed from mobile phone records. This information is then employed as input for building a transport MATSim model of the city. The model calibration and validation process proves the quality of the activity diaries obtained. The possible impacts of a cordon toll policy applied to two different areas of the city and at different times of the day are then studied. Our results show the way in which the modal share is modified in each of the considered scenarios. The possibility of evaluating the effects of the policy at both aggregated and traveller level, together with the ability of the model to capture policy impacts beyond the cordon toll area confirm the advantages of activity-based models for the evaluation of traffic demand management policies.

A geographically and temporally weighted regression model to explore the spatiotemporal influence of built environment on transit ridership

Understanding the influence of the built environment on transit ridership can provide transit authorities with insightful information for operation management and policy making, and ultimately, increase the attractiveness of public transportation. Existing studies have resorted to either traditional ordinary least squares (OLS) regression or geographically weighted regression (GWR) to unravel the complex relationship between ridership and the built environment. Time is a critical dimension that traditional GWR cannot recognize well when performing spatiotemporal analysis on transit ridership. This study addressed this issue by introducing temporal variation into traditional GWR and leveraging geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) to explore the spatiotemporal influence of the built environment on transit ridership. An empirical study conducted in Beijing using one-month transit smart card and point-of-interest data at the traffic analysis zone (TAZ) level demonstrated the effectiveness of GTWR. Compared with those of the traditional OLS and GWR models, a significantly better goodness-of-fit was observed for GTWR. Moreover, the spatiotemporal pattern of coefficients was further analyzed in several TAZs with typical land use types, thereby highlighting the importance of temporal features in spatiotemporal data. Transit authorities can develop transit planning and traffic demand management policies with improved accuracy by utilizing the enhanced precision and spatiotemporal modeling of GTWR to alleviate urban traffic problems.

Optimization of traffic demand management policy in China: towards a sustainable mode split

ABSTRACTThe rapid increase in private car use in large metropolitan areas has led to irrational travel mode splits and severe traffic problems. Traffic demand management (TDM) is an effective policy to achieve a more sustainable development of traffic systems. This study analyzes the relationships between TDM policy, mode split, and travel mode choice using Stackelberg game theory. Then, using 0–1 programming, it establishes a combination of TDM policy instruments that can achieve a more sustainable mode split in a city and provides a case study in China. The method presented in this research has strong theoretical implications for TDM policymakers.

Discussion on Integrated Traffic Planning(ITP) of New Tourism Town upon Sustainable Development and Livable Request

Abstract This paper probes into the method of creating the sustainable traffic system in the new town planning phase based on the integrated traffic planning of a new town of tourism in south of China. The paper presents the key issues to realize livable traffic, including the following subjects: firstly, implement the requirements of TOD; conduct traffic facilities planning; adjust urban function and plan the land-use layout in preference of the public transportation organization. Secondly, integrate the residents and tourists trip chain to make tourism transportation share infrastructures with urban transportation. Thirdly, construct a non-motorized traffic network with pleasant scale matching with the natural geographical conditions of city. Fourthly, according to the tourist traffic characteristics of seasonal fluctuations, build comprehensive transport hubs and carry out traffic demand management policies to ensure the pleasant quality of transportation and environment. Fifthly, provide convenient and affordable transport services in native settlement area and guarantee local residents participating in the development of new town. This article can be used as the reference for constructing the integrated traffic system of a new tourism town in developing countries, especially China.

Freeway booking policy: Public discourse and acceptability analysis

This study proposes a new strategy, called “freeway booking,” to mitigate freeway traffic congestion by using advanced traffic technologies and traffic demand management policies and to analyze public discourse and acceptability for the new traffic control policy. While the new control system is a technological issue, the introduction of a new policy must also consider public preference and acceptability. The capability of system control is often not enough to lead to the success of a new policy; the successful implementation of a new policy requires study on a range of issues including identifying the public perception and acceptability. Consequently, to accomplish the analysis of public discourse and acceptability, motorist surveys were carried out with residents of Seoul Metropolitan areas who were returning home from holidays. As a result, 66% of respondents agreed with the proposed policy; 24% of them disagreed and 11% of them gave the no-comment response. Public acceptability was found to be higher with increase in age, household income, the number of family members, and in the inconvenience for using freeways during the major Korean Holidays. Additionally, the married and female respondents tended to show higher acceptability. The results can be informative and practically used for developing participatory policies to successfully integrate public discourse and preference. Also suggested is the consideration of narrative policy as a means to improve public acceptability.

Double Cordon Tolls in Urban Areas to Increase Social Welfare

A second-best traffic demand management policy, cordon tolls, is considered. Double cordons are simulated for seven English towns. It is found that a second, outer cordon implemented jointly with an inner cordon surrounding the city center enhances the increase in social welfare in comparison with a single inner cordon. Although other social and political considerations such as potential revenues and distributional effects may persuade policy makers to implement higher or lower charges, a method is proposed for deciding on the optimal combination of tolls, which is defined as the combination that maximizes the increase in social welfare for a given cordon location, social welfare being equal to the sum of individual utilities minus the sum of individual costs.

The Impact of Road Pricing and Workplace Parking Levies on the Urban Economy: Results from a Survey of Business Attitudes

This paper reports the results of a survey of business attitudes to current transport problems and their likely responses to the introduction of road user charging (RUC) and workplace parking levies (WPLs). A sample of 152 responses from private sector businesses in three UK historic cities is analysed. Businesses perceive traffic congestion and inadequate public transport provision as key problems. Businesses typically expect the introduction of RUC and WPLs to lead to some non-economic benefits to the city but negative impacts on the urban economy and their own business performance. It is also found that there is a significant threat of businesses relocating away from the urban economy as a response to traffic demand management policies.