SMART TOLLING FOR ROAD CONCESSIONARY PROJECTS

The paper develops models for toll rates that incorporate the surface area of a vehicle and the proportion of the population that uses vehicles in a region or town for concessionary road contracts. The models are applied to set toll rates across all 38 toll booths scattered across Ghana. The results obtained by analyzing 2019 traffic data for Mallam Kasoa highway show that the expected optimal profit generally increases with the number of years of concession not only for each vehicular class but also for the entire vehicular operations. Also, the shorter the number of years of the concession, the riskier the arrangement not only within vehicular classes but for the entire vehicular operations. The paper suggests that this method of toll setting is a fairer means of toll rate assignments than the current flat rate for a vehicular class which ignores the congestion in the city where the toll booth resides. It should demotivate people to drive less in highly congested cities in favour of other means of transport such as public transport. This will ease road congestion, road rage as well as other unwanted road behaviours, particularly around and within major congested cities.