Browsing by Author "Janson, Michael"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Choice of High Occupancy/Toll Lanes Under Alternative Pricing Strategies
    (2014) Janson, Michael; Levinson, David M
    High Occupancy/Toll (HOT) Lanes typically charge a varying to single occupant vehicles (SOVs), with the toll increasing during more congested periods. The toll is usually tied to time of day or to the density of vehicles in the HOT lane. The purpose of raising the toll with congestion is to discourage demand enough to maintain a high level of service (LOS) in the HOT lane. Janson and Levinson (2014) demonstrated that the HOT toll may act as a signal of downstream congestion (in both general purpose (GP) and HOT lanes), causing an increase in demand for the HOT lane, at least at lower prices. This paper builds off that research and explores alternative HOT lane pricing strategies, including the use of GP density as a factor in price to more accurately reflect the value of the HOT lane. In addition, the paper explores the potential effect these strategies would have on the HOT lane vehicle share through a partial equilibrium analysis. This analysis demonstrates the change in demand elasticity with price, showing the point at which drivers switch from a positive to negative elasticity.
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    HOT or Not: Driver Elasticity to Price on the MnPASS HOT Lanes
    (2014) Janson, Michael; Levinson, David M
    The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has added MnPASS High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes on two freeway corridors. While not the first HOT lanes in the country, the MnPASS lanes are the first implementation of road pricing in Minnesota and possess a dynamic pricing schedule. Tolls charged to single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) are adjusted every three minutes according to HOT lane vehicle density. Given the infancy of systems like MnPASS, questions remain about drivers’ responses to toll prices. Three field experiments were conducted on the corridors during which prices were changed. Data from the field experiments as well as two years of toll and traffic data were analyzed to measure driver responses to pricing changes. Driver elasticity to price was positive with magnitudes less than 1.0. This positive relationship between price and demand is in contrast with the previously held belief that raising the price would discourage demand. We hypothesize this is because drivers use price as a signal of time savings. In addition, drivers consistently paid between approximately $60-120 per hour of travel time savings, much higher than the average value of time. Reasoning for these results is discussed as well as the implications these results have on the pricing of HOT lanes.
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    Incremental Accessibility Benefits and HOT Lane Subscription Choice
    (Transportation Research Board, 2014) Owen, Andrew; Janson, Michael; Levinson, David M
    This paper presents the results of an investigation into the factors contributing to toll lane subscription choice using data from the MnPASS HOT lane system operated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. A binomial logit model is estimated which predicts the likelihood that a household will have a subscription to the MnPASS system based on aggregate characteristics of the surrounding area. Variables in this model include demographic factors as well as an estimate of the incremental accessibility benefit provided by the MnPASS system. This benefit is estimated using detailed accessibility calculations. The model achieves a pseudo-r-squared value of 0.634, and analysis of the results suggest that incremental accessibility benefits play a statistically and practically significant role in determining how likely households are to hold a toll lane subscription.
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    MnPASS Modeling and Pricing Algorithm Enhancement
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2015-05) Hourdos, John; Janson, Michael; Levinson, David; Parikh, Gordon
    While High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes have been used for decades as a strategy for mitigating congestion, research has shown that they are not always effective. A 2001 study of the I-394 and I-35W HOV lanes in Minnesota found that the HOV lanes were on average underutilized, moving fewer people than the General-Purpose Lanes (GPL) even with the increased number of passengers per vehicle. To address the issue of underuse, in 2003 the Minnesota Legislature authorized the conversion of the I-394 HOV lanes into High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, named the MnPASS Express Lanes. The MnPASS lanes operate using a fully dynamic pricing schedule, where pricing is dictated by the level of congestion in the HOT lane. To better understand the nature of HOT lanes and the decisions of their users, this study explored the possibilities for a microscopic traffic simulation-based model of HOT lanes. Based on a series of field studies where the price of the toll was changed while observing changes in demand in the HOT lane, models describing the lane choice behavior of MnPASS users were developed and calibrated. These models interfaced with the traffic simulation software Aimsun through a number of extension modules and tested on the two MnPASS corridors of I-394 and I35W corridors in the west and south suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The integrated HOT simulation tool was also used to develop and test a number of alternative pricing strategies including a more efficient version of the current strategy.
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    Parking Lots: Case Studies and a Model Ordinance
    (Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2013) Appleby, Elizabeth; Holey, Laura; Janson, Michael; Geoffrey, Kemp
    This project was completed as part of the 2012-2013 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Minnetonka. The City of Minnetonka was interested in assessing its parking regulations and identifying potential best practices for improving parking regulation and design. Minnetonka project lead and city planner Susan Thomas worked with students in PA 8202: Networks and Places, to develop a set of parking policy recommendations. Based on their research, the students recommended doing away with the minimum parking ordinance; offering alternative infrastructure; allowing mixed-use or high-density developments that are located within close proximity to forthcoming light rail stations; increasing minimal impact design standards (MIDS) for parking lots with adaptive management options if water quality decreases; maintaining aesthetic regulations for parking lots; offering greater incentives for conservation design techniques with all pervious surfaces; allowing or incentivizing businesses with different peak business hours to share parking; and expanding developer and public outreach and education campaigns. The students' final report and presentation are available.