The application of an integrated behavioral activity-travel simulation model for pricing policy analysis

This chapter demonstrates the feasibility of applying an integrated microsimulation model of activitytravel demand and dynamic traffic assignment for analyzing the impact of pricing policies on traveler activity-travel choices. The model system is based on a dynamic integration framework wherein the activity-travel simulator and the dynamic traffic assignment model communicate with one another along the continuous time axis so that trips are routed and simulated on the network as and when they are generated. This framework is applied to the analysis of a system-wide pricing policy for a small case study site to demonstrate how the model responds to various levels of pricing. Case study results show that trip lengths, travel time expenditures, and vehicle miles of travel are affected to a greater degree than activity-trip rates and activity durations as a result of pricing policies. Measures of change output by the model are found to be consistent with elasticity estimates reported in the literature.