Simultaneously optimizing link tolls and signal settings in a road network

The problem of determining link tolls to reduce traffic congestion is often referred as a toll design problem. In this paper, optimal tolls are determined for signal-controlled junctions in urban traffic road networks where the rerouting traffic is properly taken into account. This problem can be formulated as a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) where the user equilibrium is expressed as a variational inequality problem. Due to the non-differentiability of the equilibrium problem, an efficient convergent solution scheme is established. Numerical calculations are conducted on a variety of example road networks and comparisons are made with earlier methods. (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.