Browsing by Subject "MnPASS"
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Item HOT or Not: driver elasticity to price and alternative pricing strategies on the MnPASS HOT Lanes(2013-12) Janson, Michael RischThe Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has added MnPASS High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes on two freeway corridors in the Twin Cities. 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. In addition, drivers consistently paid between approximately \$60-120 per hour of travel time savings, much higher than the average value of time. Four alternative pricing strategies are then proposed and calibrated. These pricing strategies are tested using a HOT lane choice model based on previous research. Adjusting parameters of the pricing strategies altered the resulting HOT lane share. Measuring the changes in HOT demand against the changes in price led to similar positive elasticity results.Item I-394 Phase II Planning Study(Center for Transportation Studies, 2010-07) Munnich, Lee W. Jr.; Buckeye, KennethThe I-394 MnPASS Phase II Planning Study was a multi-agency collaboration that evaluated four major study elements and their relationships in a congestion priced urban corridor. These included transit, land use, infrastructure and telecommuting. A foundation for this work was the understanding that high-cost capacity expansions were not likely to occur in the corridor for 25 to 30 years despite forecasts of increasing congestion that may threaten efficiency gains achieved with conversion of the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to high- occupancy toll (HOT) lane operation. Recommendations identified in this study are being used to guide investments in corridor facilities and services by transportation authorities and will also be used by communities adjacent to the corridor. Transit supportive land use recommendations, if implemented, can help ensure that a high level of service is maintained in the corridor for all users. While specific funding for implementation of these recommendations was not identified prior to the planning process, several compelling transit, land use and telecommuting recommendations are currently being advanced for programming. This project is a valuable case study and potential model for linking land use, transit, telecommuting and congestion pricing in a high-demand urban corridor.Item Interstate 35E MnPASS Managed Lanes Extension: Little Canada Road to County Road 96 Pre-Implementation Study(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2015-06) Douma, FrankThis report summarizes work to study the feasibility of extending MnPASS Express Lanes on I-35E between Little Canada Road and County Road 96 in the northeastern part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. During peak rush hour periods, MnPASS Express Lanes provide a congestion-free option to transit vehicles, carpools and motorcycles, as well as single-occupant vehicles for a fee. The work was funded by a Value Pricing Pilot Program grant from the Federal Highway Administration. This was a pre-implementation planning study designed to develop and evaluate conceptual alternatives for extending MnPASS Express Lanes between Little Canada Road and County Road 96 on I-35E and to identify and evaluate methods for improving bus transit and carpool use in the MnPASS lanes on I-35E. The study sought to explore and analyze a number of scenarios to provide a higher level of service for all I-35E corridor users: those using the general purpose traffic lanes, those using the MnPASS Express Lanes, and those using transit. The goal for the project was to achieve greater efficiency in the corridor through better use of existing infrastructure and to optimize highway system performance and customer service through supportive land-use planning for transit and bike/pedestrian traffic. The study engaged community stakeholders and corridor users to analyze the design, operations, benefits, costs, and public acceptability of each conceptual alternative. The study also engaged community stakeholders in identifying and evaluating additional transit enhancements that could increase transit and carpool use in the I-35E MnPASS Express Lanes. Note: Appendix H (land use study) is a separate document and listed under the report PDF.