Congestion Pricing Technologies: a Comparative Evaluation

The successful implementation of electronic congestion pricing is highly dependent on the identification and installation of appropriate technology. Several technologies exist in the market that differs according to vehicle tag type, transponder type, security strategy, cost and operating radio frequency. There are trade-offs with each technology, and very few studies presently exist that evaluate their performance under different conditions. Recent demonstration projects in Europe offer a unique opportunity to study key issues such as technology-related experiences, transactions, standardization and enforcement. This chapter discusses these experiences while identifying different performance criteria for evaluation. These performance measures are used in a formal evaluation framework based on the ELECTRE IV algorithm to rank different technologies. Such a framework complements the large body of work on congestion pricing, by providing an evaluation framework for streamlining technology investment decisions under different pricing schemes.