Evaluation of the Massachusetts motorist assistance program: Assessment of congestion and air quality impacts

A motorist assistance program has been operating in Massachusetts since 1995 to assist stranded motorists on selected freeway routes during the morning and evening peak periods. The program covers 21 major routes throughout the state, with one van, fully equipped to handle the majority of incidents encountered assigned to each route. To evaluate the program's effectiveness a comprehensive analysis of a set of performance measures was carried out. The analysis consisted of simulating the program's impact on each route category for all time periods and incident types. Benefit to cost ratios were calculated for each route and for the program as a whole. The program's benefits far exceed the costs: the average value of the benefit to cost ratio is 19:1, whereas the values for the different routes range from 3:1 to 58:1. Overall, the program provides significant benefits in terms of reduction of travel time, fuel consumption, and emission of pollutants. The analysis results were also used to design an improved operations scheme on the routes that are served.