Which pricing policy do road users accept?

Bari, Chintaman Santosh; Murali, Adurthi Naga; Navandar, Yogeshwar V.; Dhamaniya, Ashish · 2023 · Crossref

DOI: 10.18520/cs/v125/i12/1360-1368

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Summary

This study investigates user acceptability and willingness to pay for four road pricing schemes in India: Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV), High Occupancy Toll (HOT), Dynamic Toll Pricing (DTP), and Distance-Based Pricing (DBP). The research addresses the critical prerequisite for implementing road pricing policies—user perception and acceptability—particularly in developing economies where manual toll collection causes congestion. The study aims to determine which schemes are most viable by analyzing how socio-economic factors, travel characteristics, and attitudinal variables influence user preferences. The researchers conducted a large-scale survey collecting 750 responses from road users in Andhra Pradesh, India, using both online forms and face-to-face interviews with commercial vehicle drivers. The data included revealed preferences (socio-demographics, vehicle type, trip purpose) and stated preferences regarding hypothetical pricing scenarios. Attribute levels for travel cost and time savings were defined for each scheme, and respondents evaluated their acceptability using a Likert scale. A Multinomial Logit Model (MNL) was developed to estimate the probability of choosing each pricing scheme, with the existing toll system serving as the reference category. The model’s validity was confirmed with a McFadden pseudo-R² of 0.39 and a prediction accuracy of 74%. The results indicate significant differences in acceptability across the four schemes. Distance-Based Pricing (DBP) emerged as the most acceptable option, with 85% of users supporting it, followed by DTP at 70%. The MNL analysis revealed that DBP acceptability remained high even as travel costs increased, whereas other schemes showed decreasing acceptability with higher costs. HOT was preferred by car users and those with higher incomes, while SOV was favored by younger, highly educated respondents. DTP acceptance was notably higher among users who opposed the current pricing mechanism. Price elasticity analysis showed elasticities ranging from –0.45 to –4.80. DTP exhibited the highest elasticity (–4.80 at INR 55), indicating high sensitivity to price changes, while DBP showed the lowest elasticity (–0.45 at INR 90), suggesting greater user resilience to price increases. The study concludes that DBP is the most robust pricing scheme for the Indian context due to its broad acceptability and lower price sensitivity. The findings provide actionable insights for policymakers, suggesting that DBP requires fewer specific criteria regarding time or occupancy compared to HOT or DTP. The estimated elasticity values offer a quantitative basis for setting toll charges, highlighting that DTP may require careful pricing strategies to avoid significant demand shifts, whereas DBP can sustain higher toll rates with minimal impact on user adoption.

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• acceptance adoption