The New Jersey Induced Travel Calculator was developed to allow users to estimate how much new traffic is generated when a new road or new lane is built. Induced travel occurs when congested roads are expanded allowing more traffic to use them and often undermining any congestion reduction goals. Elasticities of vehicle-miles of travel with respect to lane-miles are used to estimate changes in vehicle-miles of travel based on data from the NJ Dept. of Transportation. The Calculator is designed to estimate increased travel on everything from Interstate freeways to local roads and for both urban and rural settings and for all 21 counties in New Jersey. The Calculator also provides an estimate of carbon dioxide emissions. If forecasts of vehicle-miles of travel are known, the Calculator allows one to estimate the “implied elasticity” associated with that forecast. The Calculator will allow planners and the public to assess the quality of existing forecasts associated with new road and lane construction.
We will be continuing to update the calculator based on any comments we receive. Please use this link to receive updates and tell us why you are interested in the calculator:
For more information, please email rnoland@rutgers.edu