CHARACTERISTICS OF PASSENGER CAR TRAVEL ON TOLL ROADS AND COMPARABLE FREE ROADS

AMONG THE FACTORS IMPORTANT TO AN ACCURATE ANALYSIS OF THE BENEFITS ACCRUING TO PASSENGER CAR USERS THROUGH HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS ARE (A) AVERAGE OVER-ALL RATES OF FUEL CONSUMPTION AND SPEED BY TYPE OF ROAD, (B) THE EFFECTS ON PASSENGER CAR OPERATION OF TRAFFIC IMPEDANCES, (C) RELATIVE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT BENEFITS TO MOTORISTS, AND (D) THE VALUE TO MOTORISTS OF TIME SAVING AND INCREASED DRIVING COMFORT. DATA USEFUL TO PASSENGER CAR BENEFIT STUDIES IN CONNECTION WITH EACH OF THESE FACTORS WERE OBTAINED IN 1959 DURING THE OPERATION OF A PASSENGER CAR OVER 14,000 MI ON PRIMARY HIGHWAYS IN 17 STATES. THESE DATA INCLUDED RATES OF FUEL CONSUMPTION, OVER- ALL SPEEDS, SPEED CHANGES IDENTIFIED BY CAUSE, AND RECORDS OF ALL TRAFFIC IMPEDANCES. THE STUDY ROUTE INCLUDED, IN ADDITION TO MANY MILES WHERE THE ONLY SERVICE WAS PROVIDED BY FREE ROADS, 14 SECTIONS OF TOLL ROUTE WHERE DRIVERS TRAVELING BETWEEN TWO PARTICULAR POINTS HAVE A CHOICE BETWEEN USE OF A TOLL ROUTE OR AN ALTERNATE FREE ROUTE. THE AVERAGE OVER-ALL RATES OF FUEL CONSUMPTION AND SPEED ON MAJOR EXISTING HIGHWAYS AND ON TOLL ROUTES ARE PRESENTED IN TABULAR FORM, WITH THE VARIATION IN THE OVER-ALL RATES OF FUEL CONSUMPTION AND SPEED AS AFFECTED BY THE FREQUENCY OF DRIVEWAYS AND CROSSROADS SHOWN BY BAR DIAGRAMS. THE EFFECTS OF TRAFFIC IMPEDANCES ON PASSENGER CAR OPERATION, THE PROPORTION OF PASSENGER CAR USERS ELECTING TO USE THE TOLL ROUTE AT EACH OF THE 14 TOLL ROUTE COMPARISON SECTIONS, AND THE RELATIVE ATTRACTIVENESS TO USERS OF THE TYPES OF BENEFIT REALIZED ON BOTH THE TOLL ROUTES AND FREE ROUTES ARE GIVEN IN A SERIES OF TABLES. FINALLY, THE DATA COLLECTED AT THE TOLL ROUTE COMPARISON SECTIONS WERE SUBJECTED TO A SEPARATE ANALYSIS TO OBTAIN ESTIMATES OF THE VALUE TO MOTORISTS OF THE TIME SAVING AND INCREASED DRIVING COMFORT ACHIEVED THROUGH HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS. /AUTHOR/