A Case Study of Toll Implementation in Northern Jæren

Abstract

The purpose for this thesis is to elucidate on the effects of toll pricing schemes. The new toll implementation in Northern Jæren have been investigated to measure the effect cordon and peak-period pricing have on car use demand. This research can be useful for policy makers when deciding a strategy for regulating traffic demand. Through estimation of toll price elasticities, this study shows how sensitive car users are to toll price change. Count data of number of cars on the road is collected to examine the change in traffic flow. The overall decrease in traffic is found to be 8% in Northern Jæren, ranging from -3% to 11% in the different cordon areas. The elasticity analysis shows overall inelastic results, ranging from -0.0305 to -0.1478. However, there is observed higher elasticities during peak-period, ranging from -0.0275 to - 0.1952. Results from this study suggest that the toll implementation to some extent works according to its purpose. However, other factors are also effecting the change in car use demand. An interesting finding is that there seems to be a shift in traffic flow as a result of the toll pricing scheme.