Travel demand elasticities and users attitudes: A case study of Norwegian toll projects

Users' reaction to toll user charges is crucial when it comes to policy development in the transport sector. Knowledge about how users will react and what their attitudes will be when tolls are implemented is still scant in the literature. In this paper we study elasticities of travel demand and users attitudes towards tolls in 19 Norwegian road projects. We collected survey data before and after tolls were implemented or removed and supplemented them with data from traffic counts and other sources. We find a mean short-run elasticity at -0.45 and a mean long-run elasticity at -0.82. Further, elasticities seem to vary with the characteristics of projects, e.g. road type, project location, etc. Users' attitudes towards tolls as a means of financing infrastructure are generally negative. Negative attitudes are highly correlated with the level of information supplied to users on the intentions with tolls prior to implementation. Finally, we have combined elasticities and attitudes in a taxonomy that can guide decision making and we offer suggestions on how attitudes may be improved. 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.