AN ANALYSIS OF ROAD USER CHARGING AND ROAD PRICING AT THE UPPER DERWENT VALLEY, UK

This paper discusses the effect of the road user charging scheme at the Peak District National Park, UK. The analysis was carried out with stated preference survey techniques and using a multinomial mixed logit model as well as conventional statistic and regression models. The analysis focused on not only the congestion level and environmental impact, but also equity issues associated with the road user charging scheme. From the estimation results, the scheme has great potential to reduce congestion in this area of natural beauty. However, the potential monetary policy tool also presents an equity problem, because elderly visitors will be more willing to pay the toll and the fee to park at the Information Centre. In other words, elderly visitors are more disadvantaged than other visitors. This example shows how a monetary policy tool causes an uneven effect.