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Electronic toll collection and air quality
Technical Paper
1995-16-0083
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
One of the major goals of the 1991 Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) is ""the
enhancement, through more efficient use of the Federal-aid highway
system, of the efforts of the several States to attain air quality
goals established pursuant to the Clean Air Act."" The
strategic plan for intelligent vehicle-highway systems (IVHS) in
the United States recognized that ""air quality,
particularly in designated urban areas, is an important
concern"" and also recognized that IVHS implementation
can contribute to mitigating this serious environmental
problem.
One of the five functional areas of the IVHS program is advanced
traffic management systems (ATMS). ATMS fosters a variety of
innovative technologies developed to improve traffic flow,
including the use of electronic toll collection (ETC) which not
only collects tolls electronically, but also allows toll patrons to
drive through a conventional toll booth without stopping.
These ETC systems, using automatic vehicle identification (AVI)
technology, are already operational on numerous toll facilities in
the United States and around the world. Such ETC systems have
enabled toll authorities and transportation facility operators to
increase capacity, decrease congestion, improve safety and
operating efficiency, and maximize revenues, while consistently
improving the quality of service provided to the public. Little
empirical information has been compiled, however, regarding the air
quality benefits that accompany installation of ETC systems.
In a traditional toll-collection system, the motorist must go
through a driving cycle of deceleration while approaching the toll
booth, idling while paying the toll, and accelerating back to
normal highway speeds. Research has been conducted to ascertain in
a quantifiable manner the magnitude of vehicle emission reductions
derived from a ""non-stop"" manner of toll
collection. This ETC driving cycle has been shown to produce lower
emissions of hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, and carbon monoxide
than toll collection accomplished by traditional means.