IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON TOLL COLLECTION AT THE PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE

Measuring and understanding Lhe business value of information technology (IT) is a significant and difficult problem facing researchers. We propose that the impact of IT applications can be best understood through an analysis at the task level. We report on a field research conducted to study the impact of IT on the toll collection system of thirty-eight interchanges al the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The advantages of this setting are clear causal links between information technology and the nature of work, access to data of excellent quality and the ability to isolate relevant factors in the production process. Our results indicate that the new IT at the turnpike had a substantial impact on the efficiency of processing complex transactions but no impact on simple transactions. These results can be explained by examining the nature of the toll collection task and the changes on this task produced by the new IT. The toll charged for each vehicle is based on its class (determined by the number of axles and the weight of the vehicle) iuid the distance travelled. The old toll collection system at the turnpike was replaced in July 1987. Unlike the old system, lhe new system is automatic at enlry. The new system also automatically matches entry and exit classifications and calculates the toll, leaving the operator to collect the toll and deal with possible mismatches funds, in classifications. Finally, it is easier to handle exception transactions such as authorized U-turn, insufficient funds, or lost ticket in the new syslem. We define passenger cars as simple transactions because they can be classified by sight (without weighing and counting ax les), thus eliminating the need for matching entry and exit classifications. All other vehicles (complex transactions) require matching the two classifications and resolving any possible discrepancy. We measure labor productivity before and after the introduction of the new IT for toll collection. We summarize and explain the results below: • The new technology reduced indirect labor at the interchange level. We expected indirect labor to decline with the new system due to its improved reliability and flexibility. The new system also makes the scheduling task easier because it does not require entry lanes to be manned. · The new IT reduced direct labor for complex transactions. Complex transactions get the full benefits of the new system. The automation of the vehicle entry process, matching of entry and exit classifications, and calculation of the toll charge significantly reduce worker effort. • The new system did not have an impact 01, simple transactions. The new system improves the processing of simple transactions by automating the vehicle entry process and providing easier methods to deal with exception transactions. However, the advantage of automating the matching of entry and exit classifications does not apply to passenger cars which are not subject to classification problems. Moreover, with the old system, a collector at the exit point could often verbally tell the driver of a passenger car the toll charge because most collectors remembered the toll charge for local interchanges. The new system requires all car(is to be read by the machine, which slows down the processing of passenger cars at exit This effect possibly negates the advantages of the new system for simple transactions. In future work, we will compare the impact of the technology by assessing the relative productivity of the interchanges using Data Envelopmenl Analysis. Our goal is to understand the specific factors that facilitate or hinder the utilization of technology in this setting. We will also analyze how the technological change accentuates or attenuates the importance of these factors in the production process at each interchange

Traffic Congestion and Infant Health: Evidence from E-ZPass

We exploit the introduction of electronic toll collection, (E-ZPass), which greatly reduced both traffic congestion and vehicle emissions near highway toll plazas. We show that the introduction of E-ZPass reduced prematurity and low birth weight among mothers within 2km of a toll plaza by 10.8% and 11.8% respectively relative to mothers 2-10km from a toll plaza. There were no immediate changes in the characteristics of mothers or in housing prices near toll plazas that could explain these changes. The results are robust to many changes in specification and suggest that traffic congestion contributes significantly to poor health among infants.

Understanding the Management Factors that Contribute to Successful Electronic Tolling Systems

As states awaken to the realization that large, expensive surface transportation projects can no longer be undertaken given the constraints of current funding mechanisms, policy makers are beginning to rely more heavily on tolling as an alternate means of funding desperately needed infrastructure projects. Tolling technology has evolved considerably from the traditional cash collection that was prevalent fifty years ago to all electronic, high speed, open road tolling that allows vehicles to maintain highway speeds as they traverse tolling points. This relatively new technology has substantial benefits, but has inherent risks that left unaddressed could result in failure to collect toll revenues in a fair, efficient, effective manner. For states moving toward tolling as a means of project funding, the ability of toll authorities to collect tolls accurately and efficiently is paramount. If toll authorities implementing electronic tolling fail to operate to their fullest potential, states risk not being able to fully satisfy the debt service requirements of bond holders that provide the capital needed to move forward with infrastructure construction. This endangers the ability of the state to finance future road and bridge projects. As toll authorities implement all electronic tolling (AET) systems, they may look to other states for guidance where such technology has been successfully utilized in the past. However, this is an incomplete analysis. Different toll authorities experience unique circumstances and challenges that limit the ability to apply lessons learned by examining one authority to operations of another authority. This paper systematically examines nine tolling authorities over a ten year period using statistical analysis to identify factors under management control that are consistently associated with successful tolling. The findings indicate that there are two important actions that managers can take to contribute to the success of electronic tolling. The first is to set the toll rate sufficiently high such that it is “worthwhile” for the authority to collect a toll. Toll rates that are too low, while potentially attractive to motorists, reduce the efficiency of the authority in collecting revenues. Secondly, large toll authorities should take steps to increase the number of vehicles that pay tolls through electronic means and minimize those that pay through cash or video invoicing. Small toll authorities should pool their operations with other authorities in order to make investments in electronic tolling cost effective. While the analysis is subject to some limitations, it provides additional guidance and comfort to toll authority managers initiating new toll systems. When combined with case study analysis, managers should be able to use this paper to inform decisions about how to structure their tolling systems to ensure efficiency is optimized and the likelihood of collecting revenues sufficient to repay financial obligations is maximized

Private Roads, Public Costs: The Facts About Toll Road Privatization and How to Protect the Public

Provides an overview of trends in toll road privatization and discusses implications for the public, including loss of control, financial risk, and lack of transparency. Proposes principles that would protect the public interest in privatization deals

Transportation Operations Master Plan

This document outlines a long-range vision of transportation operations for the DVRPC region. It presents transportation operations goals, objectives, and operational strategies to achieve them. An operations vision establishes a plan of where ITS infrastructure, emergency service patrols, and incident management task forces, should be deployed in the region. A series of plans and programs are identified to accomplish the regional goals and vision. Lastly, a financial analysis was conducted to estimate the costs to construct, operate, and maintain these projects

Delaware Valley Truck Parking Study

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission's (DVRPC's) Regional Truck Parking Study was undertaken due to the important economic, environmental, and safety implications of a sufficient regional truck parking network. Truck drivers must work within the bounds of the federally mandated hours-of-service (HOS) rules and regulations. The combination of limited hours of driving, complex supply chains, and narrow delivery windows leads to a need for safe and secure overnight parking.Truck parking is usually provided by three different types of facilities: privately owned truck stops, service plazas, and welcome centers. This report contains details about each type of facility in the Delaware Valley region, including the amenities offered to drivers, the number of spaces, and proximity to other facilities. At present, the region possesses a total of 1,122 spaces, 879 of which are located at privately owned truck stops.The report estimates parking demand using two different methods. Overnight site visits were done to determine the utilization of authorized facilities and the location and utilization of unauthorized parking locations. The region's authorized facilities were found to be operating over capacity by 134 trucks during the site visits, with the Valley Forge and Woodrow Wilson Service Plazas accounting for 91 of those surplus trucks. Additional unauthorized parking was found on highway shoulders, around toll plazas, and in local industrial areas. Truck parking demand was also determined by adopting the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Truck Parking Demand Model to the region. The model determined that the region had a shortfall of 247 spaces in 2009.Finally, the report offers a set of multi-regional and regional actions intended to improve the regional truck parking network:Action 1: Fully utilize available public funding that directly supports the creation of additional overnight truck parking spacesAction 2: Advance the use of the latest Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies to optimize existing parking locationsAction 3: Reduce emissions that are caused by idling parked trucks Throughout the report, blue call-out boxes will be presented; they contain related information and interesting anecdotes pertinent to the topic under discussion.Action 4: Promote the need for additional truck parking spaces and amenities to both DVRPC partners and the publicAction 5: Improve access to existing truck parking facilitiesAction 6: Maintain existing facilities and create additional regional capacity where possibleAs with all work from DVRPC's Office of Freight Planning, this report was made possible by the continued support of the Delaware Valley Goods Movement Task Force

Urban Transportation Policy: A Guide and Road Map

The main transportation issues facing cities today fall into familiar categories--congestion and public transit. For congestion, there is now a far richer menu of options that are understood, technically feasible, and perhaps politically feasible. One can now contemplate offering roads of different qualities and prices. Many selected road segments are now operated by the private sector. Road pricing is routinely considered in planning exercises, and field experiments have made it more familiar to urban voters. Concerns about environmental effects of urban trucking have resulted in serious interest in tolled truck-only express highways. As for public transit, there is a need for political mechanisms to allow each type of transit to specialize where it is strongest. The spread of “bus rapid transit†has opened new possibilities for providing the advantages of rail transit at lower cost. The prospect of pricing and privatizing highway facilities could reduce the amount of subsidy needed to maintain a healthy transit system. Privately operated public transit is making a comeback in other parts of the world. The single most positive step toward better urban transportation would be to encourage the spread of road pricing. A second step, more speculative because it has not been researched, would be to use more environmentally-friendly road designs that provide needed capacity but at modest speeds, and that would not necessarily serve all vehicles.Transportation policy; Road pricing; Privatization; Product differentiation

Implementing Value Pricing for U.S. Roadways

This paper reviews the current status of congestion-based road pricing in the United States and examines some of the characteristics of successful and unsuccessful projects, including their marketing aspects. It is concluded that forward momentum has been established for innovative road pricing, but future progress toward more widespread use of congestionbased pricing is likely to take advantage of local opportunities which present themselves, and will proceed cautiously. Considerable emphasis will be placed on marketing strategies in order to win consumer acceptance