An Analysis of Roadway Service Indicators : A Comparative Study of Six Toll Roads in Pune Region

The Pune Metropolitan region has a vast road and highway network, consisting of national highways, state highways and expressways developed by private firms. The toll roads in Pune region have been operational for quite some time and were expected to reduce travel time and improve the connectivity for the region. The network of toll roads carries huge amount of traffic and generates large toll revenue for the road developers and contributes to the regional economy to a considerable extent. However, there has been discontent among most of the travelers that the system is not able to provide the mandated Road User Services (RUS), reflected in service indicators such as safety, security, and wayside amenities. The present study aims at evaluation of RUS and ranking of six toll roads which work under similar operating conditions. The toll roads considered for the study include the segments of four national highways, one state highway and one expressway. The methodology used for evaluation and assessment of road services is by surveying travelers' perceptions on various service parameters and the opinion scores assigned to these parameters. The study can form the basis for taking decisions on toll road system improvements from service aspects with a view to improving road user satisfaction