Ramp Meters on Trial: Evidence from the Twin Cities Ramp Meters Shut-off |
Levinson, D., Zhang , L
(2006) Ramp Meters on Trial: Evidence from the Twin Cities Ramp Meters
Shut-off Transportation Research: A Policy and Practice Volume 40, Issue 10 , December 2006, Pages 810-828
presented at Transportation Research Board Conference, January
14 – 18 2002 Washington DC. |
Abstract: Ramp meters in the Twin Cities have been the subject of a recent test of their effectiveness, involving turning them off for 8 weeks. This paper analyzes the resultswith and without ramp metering for several representative freeways during the afternoon peak period. Seven performance measures: mobility, equity, productivity, consumers’surplus, accessibility, travel time variation and travel demand responses are compared. It is found that ramp meters are particularly helpful for long trips relative to short trips.Ramp metering, while generally beneficial to freeway segments, may not improve trip travel times (including ramp delays). The reduction in travel time variation comprisesanother benefit from ramp meters. Non-work trips and work trips respond differently to ramp meters. The results are mixed, suggesting a more refined ramp control algorithm,which explicitly considers ramp delay, is in order. Key Words: Ramp Meters, Evaluation, Equity, Mobility, Accessibility, Productivity,Consumers’ Surplus, Travel Time Variation, Travel Demand |
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