Summary

This project aims to implement open road electronic toll collection (ORETC) systems in the form of private-public partnerships on California highways by researching technologies and evaluating institutional issues arising from the planning and implementation of technologies. The benefits of ORETC technologies are well known: reduced waiting time and crash rates, improved convenience and travel speeds, increased vehicle throughput, etc. This research project has two major components: 1) implementing electronic roadway tolling in California, and 2) implementing successful public-private transportation partnerships in California.

The first component of this study examines electronic tolling projects and programs that are currently in operation, under construction, and in development not only in California, but also in other states in the U.S. and around the world. In addition to open-road electronic tolling, the study examines various road pricing technologies with a particular attention to the use of pricing scheme as a demand management tool. Specifically, this study examines five issues on the latest developments in electronic tolling: 1) motivations, 2) implementation and management, 3) technology, 4) performance, and 5) acceptance.

The second component of this study focuses on conditions for successful public-private partnerships for implementing highway projects, with a particular focus on electronic roadway tolling systems, from three perspectives: 1) theories of ownership and operations, 2) legislative settings, and 3) legal, contractual, and managerial issues. We will identify a range of forms of public-private partnerships, and both the conditions for successful cases and the problems behind projects that have failed or had mixed-success, including cases both inside and outside of California. The central question is whether or not private-public arrangements are more cost-effective than public provisions for transportation projects, particularly highways.

The product of this research will be recommendations that help guide decision-makers in effectively implementing programs in a time of rapid change and innovation in regard to: 1) the latest policy and pricing developments into future toll projects in California, and 2) advancement in private-public partnerships for transportation projects.

Related PATH Articles/Journals

Iseki, Hiroyuki, and Kansai Uchida "Will Public-Private Partnerships Be a Reasonable Choice for Highway Financing in the U.S.?," presented at the 48th Annual Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, Milwaukee, WI, October 18-21, 2007.