Assessing road pricing effects on a multimodal network based on macroscopic fundamental diagram hysteresis

Abstract

Purpose Road pricing is an efficient strategy for managing urban traffic to relieve congestion. The macroscopic fundamental diagram (MFD), which relates the average network density and flow, is a simple tool for assessing road pricing effects on transportation network performance. However, recent research indicates that it may have complexity (an MFD hysteresis loop), especially for city-scale networks. Although ignoring MFD hysteresis may provide inaccurate results, pricing models that consider this hysteresis are scarce. This paper aims to assess road pricing effects on network performance considering MFD hysteresis characteristics. Design/methodology/approach This paper evaluated different pricing strategies spatially and temporally and compared network performance based on MFD shape in the presence of MFD hysteresis loops. These strategies were developed on a multimodal (cars and buses) network using a multi-agent transport simulation (MATSim). Findings This study found that pricing some links for a short duration with an optimum charge calculated based on the MFD provides higher travel time savings than the previous relevant studies. Originality/value These findings may facilitate assessing road pricing effects on multimodal network performance considering MFD hysteresis.