Reference no: EM13613563

A proposal has been presented to the government of Newfoundland and Labrador to build a new section of highway that would provide improved access for residents of a remote coastal area near Bonavista. The highway would be 16 kilometres in length. The initial proposal called for 7 toll booths, each staffed by an employee. But a subsequent proposal recommended replacing the employees with machines. Many factors must be considered because the intended employees are unionized. However, one of the government's concerns is the effect that replacing the employees with machines will have on the times the drivers spend in the system. Customers will arrive to any one toll booth at a rate of 10 per minute. In the exact-change lanes with employees, the service time is essentially constant at 5 seconds for each driver. With machines, the average service time would still be 5 seconds, but it would be exponential rather than constant, because it takes time for the coins to rattle around in the machine. Contrast the two systems for a single lane.