The impact of road pricing and wind fields on vehicular air pollution

The Road-Environmental Model was built using road-network, emission, and wind and air-pollution models to evaluate the impact of road pricing and wind fields on vehicular air pollution. Simulations based on current traffic conditions confirmed model capability and the importance of wind fields on air-quality levels. Wind fields were found to have greater impact on air quality than road pricing. In fact, a wind field actually diminished the impact of road pricing within a certain area. The air quality got worse beyond the road pricing area due to increased detoured vehicles. If road pricing were introduced, more private drivers would avoid such areas than their commercial counterparts. Hence the variable road-pricing method, based on air-pollution prediction, was proposed with consideration to the private driver.