Planning Lee County’s Variable-Pricing Program

Abstract

Congestion (or variable) pricing can be described as the charging of more for goods or services during periods of peak demand. In theory, this practice would prove beneficial as a travel demand management tool when setting fares on toll roads and bridges. However, in practice, it has proven extremely difficult to implement in the United States. Many of the planning issues and solutions found during the early phases of a variablepricing pilot study currently being conducted in Lee County, Florida, are examined. Also examined is the electronic toll collection system being implemented in conjunction with variable pricing. The planned variablepricing scheme is detailed, along with how this publicly and politically palatable pricing scheme was derived. Data collection efforts, which include origin-destination surveys, focus groups, mail-back surveys, videotaping of traffic, and detailed traffic counts are described to emphasize the substantial effort undertaken to obtain accurate and meaningful variable-pricing traffic behavioral data that can be applied across the country. A summary of work to date and an overview of the next steps toward implementation of the variable-pricing program in Lee County are presented.

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