Evaluation Methods for Measuring the Value of ITS Services and Benefits from Implementation: Part X Freeway Service Patrols

Problem

Incident management programs are one of the key elements of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The goal of such programs is to clear the incidents from the roadways and return traffic flow to normal as soon as possible. Incident management programs have been introduced in many places to facilitate incident detection and reduce incident duration. They make use of ITS services and coordinate among the various operating agencies to meet the goals of quick detection and clearance of incidents.

Highway assistance services, also called the freeway service patrols (FSPs), are one of the main approaches used by incident management programs. These patrols use vehicles to patrol the heavily traveled segments and congested sections of the freeways that are prone to incidents. The main goals of the FSPs are to help identify incident locations, reduce the incident duration time, get the freeway capacity back to the fullest and to reduce the risks of secondary accidents without any assistance from other agencies. In cases of major incidents, the patrols help assess the equipment and resources needed to clear the incidents, coordinate with other agencies involved, and provide the needed traffic control and buffer between the workers and traffic. They also help detect and verify incidents like major accidents and pass on the required information to the transportation management centers (TMCs). This helps reduce delay, congestion, wasted fuel, emissions and potential for secondary accidents.

Previous analyses of the freeway service patrols include studies conducted by California PATH (Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways) program at the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) University of California Berkeley and Texas Transportation Institute concluded that FSPs are cost-effective, successful in their objectives of reducing incident duration and facilitating quick detection, and highly popular among motorists.

This research sought to determine the value that people place on the benefits offered by FSPs in comparison to private assistance services such as the Automobile Association of America (AAA), and how much they would be willing to pay to avoid being stranded when their vehicle breaks down on the freeway. The studies conducted so far have focused on the effectiveness of the freeway service patrol whereas this report analyzes the factors that influence people in choosing to rely on the freeway service patrol.

Findings

This research shows that the probability that an individual would choose the highway assistance services depends on the key attributes like the annual fee of the program, the fee at the time of assistance, the time of waiting for assistance and cost of breakdown. The findings also show that the presence of the highway assistance services in a state does have a small influence on the auto club (AAA) membership.

The researchers also concluded that the data sets for Stated Preference and Revealed Preference analyses were too small. Larger data sets were anticipated to provide better results and clearly indicate the factors influencing people's choices. A pilot survey conducted on a larger scale would likely provide a better evaluation of the factors influencing people's choices related to FSP use.

In addition, the research concluded that the sample set was probably socio-demographically too homogeneous. A larger heterogeneous sample set would provide better indications of the way the socio-demographic variables impact the choices of motorists.