Pricing and Hierarchical Logit-Based Mode Choice Models in a Multimodal Corridor with Trip-Chain Costs

This paper proposes four pricing models for a multimodal corridor transportation system with trip-chain costs. The transportation system comprises a subway parallel to a bottleneck-constrained highway between a residential area and a workplace. Commuters can get their destination by either auto mode or transit mode only; besides these, they can first drive to the bottleneck, park there and then take subway to the destination. The solutions of these four models correspond to the hierarchical logit-based stochastic equilibria among travel costs and trip benefits with different optimization objectives. It is shown that when transit and park-and-ride place are operated by government and parking lot at working area belongs to the private enterprise, lower transit fares and higher parking fee in the central area can effectively encourage P&R mode choice, increase transit attraction and maximize the total net benefit of the system. Numerical results support the on-going differentiated parking charge policy in Beijing.