Examination of delay and travel time at highway toll booths using a micro simulation program: example of Northern Marmara Highway Kurnaköy

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reveal that barrier toll booths are inefficient in terms of delay and travel time when compared to non-barrier toll booths. In our study, Kurnaköy toll booth, on the Northern Marmara Highway, was examined. The toll booth was modeled using the PTV Vissim micro simulation program. Currently, 8 toll booths are in active service and are operated with barriers. As an alternative to the current operation, 4 different operations were modeled: 8 toll booths without barriers, 10 toll booths without barriers, 12 toll booths without barriers and finally 4 toll booths with free passage system. The designed models were run under 3 different demand levels as low, medium and high, and compared using the PTV Vissim program. When the current barrier toll booth and the non-barrier operations were compared with medium demand, it was seen that there is a significant difference in delay. A bottleneck problem was also encountered due to the geometry of the barrier-free toll booth operation. The optimum operation was found by comparing the alternative operations.