The Impact of Gas Prices on Toll Road Use
Record Type: UTC
One of the primary functions of transportation planning is to predict future travel behavior. Using estimated travel patterns, planners can then help decision makers select the array of projects that will best suit the needs of their community. Travel behavior is a function of many variables, with cost being among the most important. Recent fluctuations in the price of gas provide an excellent opportunity to observe the impact of the price of gas on travel behavior. This project goes a step beyond looking at the elasticity of travel with respect to gas price by examining how recent changes in gas prices have impacted travel on specific facilities: toll roads. Using data from around the US we are examining how traffic levels on toll roads have been affected by fluctuations in gas prices over the last several years. We are developing models that account for the many other exogenous factors influencing toll road use (such as local economy, population, registered vehicles, fuel efficiency of vehicle fleet, etc.) and provide an elasticity of toll road demand with respect to gas price independent of those other factors. This study will provide planners and toll road authorities with valuable information on how travelers react to increasing cost of travel when already selecting a mode with an added cost (the toll).
Start date: 2009/9/1
End date: 2010/12/31
Status: Active
Contract/Grant Number: DTRT06-G-0044
Secondary Number: 00031
Total Dollars: 58158
Source Organization: University Transportation Center for Mobility
Date Added: 01/21/2009
Index Terms: Fuel prices, Fuel costs, Toll roads, Travel behavior, Gasoline, Travel costs, Toll road avoidance, Research projects,
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University Transportation Center for Mobility
http://utcm.tamu.edu
Texas Transportation Institute
Texas A&M University System
3135 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3135
USA
Phone: (979) 845-2538
Fax: (979) 845-9761
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Tooley, Melissa S
Phone: (979) 845-8545
Fax: (979) 845-9761
Email: m-tooley@tamu.edu
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Texas A&M University, College Station
http://civil.tamu.edu
Zachry Department of Civil Engineering
3136 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3136
USA
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Burris, Mark
Phone: (979) 845-9875
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