Ramp Metering, Freeway Congestion, and Driver Acceptance

(Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute, $173,265, 2 years, PI, co-PIs Kathleen Harder and John Bloomfield)

Original Abstract:
Minnesota's pre-shutdown ramp metering algorithms tried to maximize throughput, implicitly minimizing total delay. If time at the ramp is not weighted the same as time-in-motion by users, this time-minimizing strategy may not be utility-maximizing for travelers. This research will attempt to quantify the weights individuals associate with qualitatively different experiences of travel time: waiting at a ramp meter or freeway-to-freeway ramp meter and traveling at different freeway speeds requiring varying numbers of acceleration and deceleration shifts, using experiments in the HumanFIRST Driving Simulator. This information will enable us to better time ramp meters in a way that responds to individual perceptions, to maximize utility rather than minimizing travel time.

Final Report

Final Report

Presentations and Publications

Levinson, D., Kathleen Harder, John Bloomfield, and Kasia Winiarczyk. Weighting Waiting: Evaluating the Perception of In-Vehicle Travel Time Under Moving and Stopped Conditions Journal of the Transportation Research Board No. 1898 pp. 61-68
Levinson, D., K. Harder, J. Bloomfield, K. Carlson (2006)Waiting Tolerance: Ramp Delay vs. Freeway Congestion Transportation Research part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour Volume 9, Issue 1 , January 2006, Pages 1-13
Zhang, Lei, Feng Xie, David M. Levinson (2005) Variation of Subjective Value of Travel Time on Freeways and Ramp Meters (05-0868) presented at 84th Annual Meeting of Transportation Research Board in Washington, DC, January 9-13th 2005.

Master's Theses

Kasia Winiarczyk - Weighting Waiting: Evaluating the Perception of In-Vehicle Travel Time Under Moving and Stopped Conditions
Kathy Carlson - Waiting Tolerance: Ramp Delay vs. Freeway Congestion