Characteristics of the Auto Users and Non-Users of Central Texas Toll Roads

As toll road usage increases to finance new road infrastructure or add capacity to existing road infrastructure, the question of who does and does not use toll roads becomes increasingly important to toll road developers, financiers, Traffic and Revenue consultants, and investors, among others. Although a number of previous studies have attempted to characterize toll road users and sub-sets of toll road users, this study presents a first attempt to differentiate the auto users and non-users of the Central Texas toll roads. Respondents (1,507) to a telephone survey that was conducted in the Spring of 2008 were categorized as users and non-users of toll roads and statistical analysis was conducted to provide insight into the demographic and trip characteristics of the auto users and non-users of the Central Texas toll roads. The report also includes a detailed analysis of actual transaction data from the Central Texas Turnpike System. These actual data coupled with the preferences expressed in the surveys provides a detailed look into the characteristics of the auto users and non-users of the Central Texas area toll roads.