Document Type

Technical Report

Publication Date

9-2021

Keywords

Congestion management systems, road pricing, managed lanes, performance measurement

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.5038/CUTR-NICR-Y1-4-1.1

Abstract

A performance assessment and willingness-to-pay (WTP) analysis were conducted of the reversible dynamic toll lanes (DTL) of freeway PR-22 in Puerto Rico. This is the first managed lane facility of its kind in a toll freeway in Puerto Rico. Toll transactions from the year 2019 were used to calculate seven performance measures to assess the impact of the managed lanes on travel times and vehicle speeds on the 12 km- long (7.7 mi) segment. The results demonstrate that the dynamic pricing algorithm behaves as expected, increasing the price for the DTL as traffic increases and vehicle speeds decrease on the facility, and provided satisfactory performance for the conditions at PR-22. The DTL provided an average travel time savings of 7 minutes and enhanced travel time reliability when compared with the general toll lanes (GTL) during the morning peak period. Compared to six other managed lane facilities in the U.S., the results from the PR-22 DTL show higher travel time savings and reliability. A survey of PR-22 users was conducted to estimate their willingness-to-pay (WTP) and their attitudes and perceptions associated with the quality and usage of the DTL. The aggregate analysis of PR-22 users using the Van Westerndorp Price Sensitivity Meter resulted in a WTP range for the DTL of $1.00 to $2.79, which is less than the $4.95 maximum toll charged for the managed lane facility. Even though the maximum price exceeds their WTP, the level of congestion in the GTL during peak periods still motivates users to pay the extra fee for the DTL outside of their preference. A regression analysis found that the factors that significantly reduce the WTP of the freeway users include subjects from higher income levels, higher ages, and females. As stated by freeway users, the congestion in the GTL is the main factor that influence them to use the DTL. Therefore, a recommendation to increase the usage of the PR-22 DTL is to provide commuters with relevant information about the real-time benefits of the DTL. The implementation of a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) policy for the freeway corridor should also be studied. A HOV policy could promote ridesharing on the corridor while providing economic relief and enhancing the equity of the toll freeway by reducing or eliminating the premium toll fee of the managed lanes to those commuters.

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