The work reported here is original research into novel methods of road charging. It was commissioned by the Office of Science and Innovation as part of its Foresight Project on Intelligent Infrastructure Systems.
The aim in the Smart Market Protocols For Road Transport (SMPRT) Project was to investigate how agent-based econometric and transport models might be combined to investigate complex issues related to the use of infrastructure.
The focus for the work was an investigation of how charging for infrastructure use might address congestion on a heavily used stretch of road. Employing the smart market simulation they investigated how the system responded to peak demand exceeding capacity and to other disruptive factors.