Test your knowledge of dynamic pricing - and learn how to keep traffic flowing.

1. Coulddemand-
basedtolling
unclogyourroads?
Testyourknowledgeofdynamicpricing
–andlearnhowtokeeptrafficflowing

2. Colorado
concludeditwouldmakebetter
useofexistinginfrastructure.2
California
hasbeendoingit,like,forever,
tomanagecongestion.3
Washington
diditanduppedvehicle
speedinalllanes.1

3. Dynamictollingisimproving
trafficflowonthebusiestroads
acrosstheUnitedStates.
Byincreasingthecostoftollsinbusierperiods,and
decreasingthemwhentrafficeases,highwayplanners
arereducingpollution,makingjourneytimesmore
predictable,andencouragingpeopletoconsider
otheroptions.

4. Buttointroduceasuccessfulprogram,
manyquestionsneedanswering.Suchas:
Whatoutcomescanyourealisticallyexpect?
Howandwhendoyousetyourrates?
Whatdoesitcosttocollecttolls?
Howdoyougetdriversonboard?
Dynamictollingisaproven,
powerfultooltoimproveroads
andthequalityofpeople’slives.

5. Tohelpyoufindtheanswers
–andtogiveyousomeotheruseful
infoonhowdemand-basedtolling
works–we’vedevelopedaquiz.
Ready?
Let’sgo.

6. Wefinethemseverely,asadeterrent
Wesendthemapolitenoticewithnofine
Wesendapolicecarafterthemtoenforcethetoll
Whatdoyoudowhenacar
withanout-of-statelicenseplate
(whichdoesn’thaveatransponder)
usestheexpresslane?
A
B
C
Q1

7. B
Correct answer:

8. Manyhighwayauthorities
operateagoodwillpolicy
without-of-towners.
Forthefirstcoupleofviolations,authoritiesmight
sendcommunicationstothecarownerabouthow
toinstallatransponderandusetheroadlegally.
Thecarownerwouldonlyusuallyreceiveafine
aftersuccessiveviolations.

9. 35
U.S. states operate
toll facilities.
active transponders
are in use on U.S.
roadways.4
55 Million

10. Howmuchadditionalannualrevenuecan
youexpecttogeneratebyimplementing
dynamicpricingonyourtollroad?
10%
30%
50%
A
B
C
Q2

11. Correct answer:
Sorry–thatwasatrickquestion!

12. Dynamictollsreallyaren’tabout
generatingrevenue.They’reabout
changingpeople’stravelbehavior
–andimprovingqualityoflife
foreveryone.
Tollscanbeanincentiveto:
• Travelatlessbusytimes
• Organizecarpools
• Chooseadifferentmodeoftransportaltogether

13. The Federal Highway
Administration estimates
that widespread congestion
pricing could reduce the
need for capital investment
by about 30%.5
30%
ROAD
WORK
AHEAD
Havingsaidthat,
congestionpricingcan
alsocontributeabig
chunktoreducingroad
maintenancecosts.

14. Q3
Considerthisscenario:trafficbuildsandslows
onyour“generalpurpose”lanes.Soyouincrease
theratefortheexpresslanetokeepitflowing
–whichthenbecomesbusyitselfasotherlanes
clear.Nowhowdoyouadjustyourrates?
Idon’t.Trafficwillautomaticallygetbacktoastateofequilibrium
Ilowerthetollfortheexpresslane
Iwaitforanother30minutesbeforeadjustinganything
A
B
C

15. Correct answer:

16. Experienceshowsthatdrivers
areusuallyhappytopayforthe
convenienceofspeed,butonly
ifratesarefairandtransparent
atalltimes.

17. The golden rule of dynamic
pricing: the price drivers pay
for the express lane must
correspond to the true
value of not being stuck.
That’swhyit’scrucial
thatyouadjustyour
ratesinnearreal-time
whentrafficflowchanges.

18. Q4
WhatpercentageoftheAmericanpublic
isinfavorofroadtolls?
30%
47%
83%
A
B
C

19. Correct answer:

20. Ifitmakestheirjourneysbetter,
driversarewillingtopay.

21. of drivers are willing to pay back
tolls for making roads – even
existing interstates – safer, less
congested and more reliable.6
Surveys show that people prefer
paying tolls rather than taxes for
funding necessary transportation
projects.12
Tolls directly link the
price to the benefit.7
83%

22. Q5
Whicharesafer?
U.S.tollroads
AllU.S.roads
A
B

23. Correct answer:

24. Tollroadsare3xsafer.
Tollroadsareusuallyless
congestedthannon-tollroads,
leadingtofeweraccidents.8
Andmostmoderntolling
systemsareall-electronic,so
there’snoneedtostoptopay.
Itreducestheriskofpile-ups.

25. An IBTTA study found that the fatality
rate on toll roads is 3x less than the
rate for all U.S. roads. (1.47 vs 0.50
per 100 million vehicle miles traveled).9
3x

26. Q6
Whatisthecheapestway
toraisefundsforhighways?
Collectinggastax
All-electronictolling
Theycostaboutthesame
A
B
C

27. Correct answer:

28. Manypeoplethinkgastax
istheeasiestandcheapest
waytopayforhighways.
Butelectronictoll
collectioncomesclose.

29. According to a study, the cost of collecting tolls
in a mature all-electronic tolling (AET) system is
between 5% and 8% of the revenue collected.10
This suggests that toll collection costs can be
similar to the costs of collecting federal and
state motor fuel taxes.

30. Statescanexpectadramatic
fallinrevenuefromfueltaxes
aslow-emissionandelectric
carsbecomecheaperandmore
popular–soswitchingfrom
afuel-taxmodeltoaroad-toll
modellookslikethewayforward.

31. What’stheenvironmentalimpact
ofelectronictollcollection?
Improvesairquality
Worsensairquality
Nomeasurabledifference
A
B
C
Q7

32. Correct answer:
A

33. Electronictollschemesreduceemissions.
Astudyshowsthatelectronictollcollection
attollplazaseliminates20%ofCO2 emissions
comparedwithmanualcollection–because
carsdon’tsitidlewithenginesrunning.
Andopen-roadtollcollectioncaneven
saveupto70%inemissions.11

34. Airquality:thecitypay-off.
Citiesthatoperatecongestionpricinghave
seenmassiveimprovementsinairquality:
Singaporehasreducedemissionsbyan
estimated175,000poundsofCO2 eachday.
Stockholmhasengineereda10-14%drop
inCO2 emissionsinitscentralarea.12

35. Q8
Howdoyouaddresstheprivacyconcernsof
driverswhofearhighwayauthoritiescantrack
theirmovementsusingtollingtransponders?
There’snoneedtoworry.It’scustomerdataandassuchprotectedbylaw
Thereisn’tmuchwecando.Ultimately,onceatransponderislinkedtoan
account,wecantheoreticallyidentifywhenthevehicletravelledonatollroad
Weofferanonymousprepaidaccounts
A
B
C

36. Correct answer:

37. Therearemanywaystoprotect
driverprivacy.
Inordertodeterminethecorrecttoll,alltollcollectors
needtoknowis:
• Thevehicleclassification(truck,car,motorbike,etc)
• Thedistancetravelled

38. Protecting driver identities is easy:
It’s not necessary to identify the license
plate unless there is a toll violation.

39. Manyauthoritiesrunningtollprograms
makesuredriversknowthat:
• Theyprotectappsandpayments,andmakethemPCIcompliant
• Theylinkthetransponderandtheuser’sdatawithaninternal
accountnumberthatdoesn’trevealtheiridentity
• Thereisanoptiontocreateananonymouspre-paidaccount
• Sensorsandcamerasonlydetectvehiclepositions
–theydon’tstoreregistrationinformation

40. Youmadeitthrougheight
toughquestionsondynamic
pricingintolling.
Wehopeyougotsomeuseful
infooutoftheexercise.

41. Didyouknowthatcitiesaredoing
demand-basedpricing,too?
It’sproventobeasuper-effectivetoolinmanaginginner-city
parking,reducingcongestionandsignificantlyimprovingair
qualityinurbancenters.
Soit’snosurprise:dynamicpricingisahottopic
fortransportationplannersallovertheworld.

42. Getyourcopyhere
The four principles
of dynamic pricing
in transportation
How to adjust tolls and parking rates for faster,
more efficient roadways
Thegoodnews:we’ve
writtenaneBookaboutit.
Learnallaboutthebasicprinciplesof
dynamicpricing–inparkingandtolling
–inthis101primeronusingpricingto
engineernewtravelbehaviors.

43. Sources
1
http://www.itsinternational.com/sections/cost-benefit-analysis/features/mounting-benefits-of-dynamic-tolling-project/
2
http://ibtta.org/sites/default/files/A%20Guide%20for%20HOT%20Lane%20Development%20FHWA.pdf p.94
3
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=trct=jq=esrc=ssource=webcd=2ved=0ahUKEwjPz8vnm_LNAhWMIMAKHSo3C5wQFggmMAEurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.
wctrs-society.com%2Fwp%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fabstracts%2Fberkeley%2FE5%2F623%2FWCTR2007_LouYinLaval.docusg=AFQjCNF4aZnfyyj4iot0_0p-
SbFfU73xuwsig2=l7-6WVLcmttwmxxB1-VHMQ
4
http://ibtta.org/sites/default/files/documents/IBTTA%20Publications/National%20Toll%20Facilities%20Usage%20Analysis.pdf
5
https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/114th-congress-2015-2016/reports/50150-Federal_Highway_Spending-OneCol.pdf p.3
6
http://ibtta.org/blog/83-americans-support-tolls-improve-existing-highways
7
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08039/cp_prim1_08.htm#faq3
8
http://ibtta.org/sites/default/files/documents/MAF/2015_FactsInBrief_Final.pdf
9
http://ibtta.org/sites/default/files/documents/MAF/2015_FactsInBrief_Final.pdf
10
http://ibtta.org/publication/debunking-myths-highway-tolling
11
DECARBONIZATION OF TOLL PLAZAS: IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF TOLL COLLECTION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT. TRANSyT – Transport Research Center Madrid, 2013
12
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08039/cp_prim1_08.htm#faq3

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