A Lane-Based Congestion Pricing Model for Expressway Toll-Lane Management

Road pricing is one of the methods for mitigating urban and/or intercity traffic congestion problems. This study proposes a lane-based road pricing model where the investigated expressway trunk is classified into two types of lanes: a premium lane and a regular lane(s). The premium lane serves road users with urgent needs and would be willing to pay a higher fee to avoid traffic congestion. The developed model applies the marginal cost pricing principle with an aim to maximize the total social welfare. The numerical analysis results indicate that the social welfare of the lane-based, first-best pricing scheme is higher than that of the no-toll scheme. In addition, the total social welfare is monotonically increasing as the lane-based tolling distance is increased. The findings of this study have implications for the government and/or expressway operators in preparing a desirable congestion management policy.