Journal of Transportation Research

Journal of Transportation Research

Economic Model for Determining Toll Rates for Heavy and semi-heavy Commercial Vehicles on Iranian Freeways with Emphasis on the Amount of Damage to the Pavement

Author
Parisa Bazdar Ardebili
Assistant Professor, Housing & Urban Development Research Center, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/tri.2026.243982
Abstract
Road pricing has become one of the main priorities in global transport policies. Road pricing is an effective solution for providing financial resources for the development and improvement of transport systems, as well as demand management and congestion control. The main objective of this paper is to present an economic model for determining the toll rates for heavy and semi-heavy commercial vehicles on the country's freeways, with an emphasis on the amount of damage caused to the pavement. For this purpose, the toll rates for these vehicles have been calculated using the external marginal cost approach. In addition to the original model, an adjusted model has been presented and the toll rates have been determined based on it. Considering the proposed approach as an example, the toll rates on the Tehran-Qom freeway were calculated. Two strategies have been used to determine the toll rates: (1) covering the total costs imposed (state operator scenario) and (2) covering infrastructure costs with a 30% profit margin (private operator scenario). The results showed that if the initial marginal costs of the infrastructure are not included in the calculation of the toll rates, the deviation of the calculated toll rates from the current values ​​is less than in other scenarios. A very important point is that the calculated rates are higher than the current values. Such an issue may encounter strong opposition from transport users if the proposed model is implemented; therefore, gradual implementation and culture building are prerequisites for implementing the model.
Keywords
Economic Model
Toll Rate
Commercial Heavy and Medium-Heavy Vehicles
Freeway
Marginal Cost Model
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