Operational planning for electronic toll collection: a unique approach to computer modeling/analysis

The authors present a novel approach to modeling a toll plaza and evaluating a number of possible scenarios for an ETC (electronic toll collection) equipped toll plaza. Utilizing a spreadsheet based demand/capacity model (which was validated and created in a relatively short time frame) rather than using the traditional complex simulation language, the effectiveness of ETC technology was evaluated. For each scenario the modeling effort showed that the implementation of ETC technology should result in an improved toll plaza operation. For the majority of the toll plaza users considered the results from the modeling effort showed that, by implementing ETC technology, service levels would improve and in most cases, significantly so