This appears to be based around the same technology as used in car insurance tracking devices. In effect every road would potentially be a toll road, with variable charges according to whatever factors are applied.
In the current issue of Nature, economists Peter Cramton, Axel Ockenfels (both University of Cologne) and R. Richard Geddes (Cornell University) propose having drivers pay a dynamic fee for the use of roads, reports Green Car Congress.
This would contribute to avoiding traffic jams and protecting the environment, the researchers argue.
Fees that respond to traffic volumes in real time and with site precision, taking into account factors such as vehicle type and exhaust emissions, can significantly improve traffic flow and contribute to reducing air pollution, they suggest.
The location of individual cars can now be tracked to within a few centimeters. This makes it feasible to measure and price road use in real time according to demand. If the price were set at the right level, enough car drivers would choose to drive at a different time or take a different route or mode of transport to cut congestion. Limited road space would be managed in a similar way to airfares, electricity, hotel rooms and train journeys. Uber already balances demand and supply of its cars through surge pricing.
Overall, dynamic pricing does not drive motorists away. It can double the capacity of a congested route in peak times by preventing traffic jams—just as managing fisheries can ease overfishing. Pollution and stress would decrease. The funds raised could be used to improve roads and public transport, and to reduce fuel and other taxes.
—Cramton et al.
The authors argue that fixed pricing schemes do little for congestion, because prices often do not change meaningfully with supply and demand13. A low price does little to mitigate jams at peak times. “A price that is fixed high to eliminate peak congestion would be as inefficient and unacceptable as having Thanksgiving airfares all year.”
Traffic jams are not only annoying and time-consuming, they are also costly. In Germany, the economic damage caused by congested roads in 2017 totaled approximately €80 billion euros.
Currently, road users who cause traffic jams, damage the environment and even incur costs are paying just as much as those who are not involved. Without a toll, this means that the general public is subsidizing these road users. That’s unfair.
—Axel Ockenfels
A toll for road use would bring these costs to light and reduce congestion.
Continued here.
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August 3, 2018 at 06:25AM
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