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Fuel consumption information: An alternative for congestion pricing?

Rouhani, O. M ; Sharif University of Technology

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  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. Abstract:
  3. People's poor perception of the amount they spend on fuel is considered to be an important reason for the low price elasticity of gasoline demand. Users' travel demand can be changed by making them more aware of the fuel costs of different routes. As a result of becoming informed about their petrol consumption cost prior to entering traffic congestion, users may take an alternative route, change their travel schedule, or decide not to travel at all. Without considering the change in the price elasticity of gasoline demand, this study estimates the effects of providing gasoline consumption information (GCI) on people's route choice behaviour, the influence of fuel price on the effectiveness of the GCI in changing users' route choice behaviour, and the comparative effectiveness of providing GCI and using congestion pricing schemes. The results from a small network show that providing this information can improve people's behaviour in terms of route choice and that the results are comparable to those of congestion pricing schemes in terms of total travel time saved, especially for high travel demand and moderate fuel price conditions. The social benefits of providing the GCI are significantly and nonlinearly affected by the pre-policy proportion of uninformed users
  4. Keywords:
  5. Behavioral research ; Costs ; Elasticity ; Fuels ; Gasoline ; Motor transportation ; Transportation routes ; Travel time ; Alternative routes ; Comparative effectiveness ; Congestion pricing ; Gasoline demand ; Petrol consumption ; Price elasticity ; Route choice behaviour ; Social benefits ; Traffic congestion
  6. Source: Road and Transport Research ; Vol. 23, issue. 3 , Sep , 2014 , p. 52-64 ; 10375783
  7. URL: http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=805643594430997;res=IELENG