|
|
B.S. Urban and Regional Studies 2009
I wrote my senior honors thesis on the feasibility of implementing road pricing in the U.S. based on experience with High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes and other toll roads in this country to date. In the Washington, DC area where I am originally from, there are several roads that are either under construction or being planned where HOT lanes are included as part of the highway design. On a highway with HOT lanes, solo drivers may choose between driving in the HOT lanes and paying the toll, or driving on a parallel roadway where no toll is charged. When I started this project, I was under the impression that HOT lanes and road pricing projects were unfair to low-income drivers. To examine this, I analyzed the initial writings on the concept of road pricing, the history of road pricing in the U.S., and established best practices for road pricing projects. Having completed my thesis, I now believe that there are ways to implement road pricing that are equitable to all drivers, and that it is possible to create a set of best practices by studying the projects that do exist to see where things have been done well and where things have been done poorly. Through my research I concluded that road pricing does have a future in the U.S., although it is important to ensure that best practices are followed so that equity and other concerns are mitigated properly.
View Another Work Spotlight
