The main objective of rural roadway pricing is revenue generation, rather than elimination of congestion externalities. This report presents a model that provides optimum tolls accounting for pavement deterioration and economic impacts. This model contains multiple components, because imposing tolls creates 'ripple effects' on traffic flow : changing traffic movements, which changes pavement deterioration rates, maintenance schedules, and spending in local economies. The model described here also allows differential pricing for different types of vehicle. Due to the discontinuity of the formulation, simulated annealing is used to find tolls on selected roadway arcs. This model is demonstrated on a network representing the state of Wyoming, along with some discussion of the issues raised by the model’s recommendations. (Author/publisher)
Abstract