LEVEL-OF-SERVICE ANALYSIS OF TOLL PLAZAS ON FREEWAY MAIN LINES

Toll collection on freeway main lines can have serious repercussions o n freeway operation and management. There are currently no suitable me thodologies for level-of-service analysis of main-line toll plazas. To bridge this gap in the state of the art of level-of-service analysis of highway facilities, a methodology is developed. This methodology re lies heavily on a computer simulation model referred to as toll-plaza- simulation model. The reliance on computer simulation reflects a recog nition of the limitations of analytical models and the popularity and computing power of personal computers. The operating characteristics o f toll plazas are examined through field observation and computer simu lation. The performance of a toll gate can be significantly affected b y a number of factors such as service capacity, vehicle arrival patter n, number of available gates, and driver behavior. A stable performanc e can generally be expected if the average queue length at a toll gate does not exceed three vehicles. An average queue length of more than 10 vehicles represents a rather unstable and undesirable operation. Av erage queue length and average time spent in a toll-collection system are used as the measures of effectiveness to classify quality of servi ce into six levels. The essential features of the recommended methodol ogy are presented.