Author(s)

T. Suzuki

Abstract

This study focuses on the ETC commuting discount which is applied to travels of less than 100km except in metropolitan areas. In theory, it is regarded as a selfselecting road pricing which discriminates users on the basis of payment means, travel distance, time period, and space. The purpose of this policy must speed up the spread of ETC use as a mode of collection of highway fees. In order to achieve this, users must be presented with long-term incentives for installing ETC devices in their automobiles. Therefore, it is not always the case that the introduction of a self-selecting fee system benefits users. To comprehend the relations between the ETC commuting discount and variations of highway congestion, this study applies the traditional bottleneck congestion model to the ETC commuting discount of highway fees regarded as self-select road pricing. From the results, it can be inferred that the self-select pricing mechanism eliminates the negative effects of granting discount in the peak period; however, the mechanism may not work when ETC use becomes widespread. The conditions are based on the number of ETC users, the capacity of the bottleneck, and the length of the discounted period. Keywords: road pricing, self-selecting fee system, bottleneck congestion. 1 Introduction In recent times, with the introduction of the electric toll collection (ETC) system, several discounts have been given on the Japanese highway fee system. This study focuses on the ETC commuting discount considered as the representative of such discounts in the amount of utilization. This discount is applied to travels of less than 100km except in metropolitan areas. In theory, it is regarded as a self-selecting road pricing, which discriminates between users on the basis of payment means, travel distance, time period and space.

Keywords

road pricing, self-selecting fee system, bottleneck congestion.