The Dutch Spitsmijden project was set up to study the feasibility of a reward scheme to encourage commuters not to drive during the morning rush-hour. The project comprises two stages. Stage 1 – the reward trial reported on here – comprised a behavioural analysis, technical and organizational implementation, welfare optimization and traffic simulation. The trial was carried out by a public-private partnership comprising universities, private companies and public institutions. The geographical focus was on the heavily congested Dutch A12 motorway link from Zoetermeer towards The Hague. An experiment involving 340 regular rush-hour commuters was conducted in order to obtain revealed preference observations for a behavioural analysis. This was complemented by several surveys (including a stated preference survey), which extended the scope of the dataset. The behavioural analysis led to the establishment of a number of parameters. These were fed into simulation models that had been developed as part of the project. One model is based on economic welfare theory and was used to determine the optimal reward level. The second model is a dynamic traffic model that allowed the simulation of different reward levels and an assessment of the global impact of the corresponding reward schemes. This report provides an extended background description of the different technical and scientific aspects of the first phase of the project. (Author/publisher)
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