The Bay Area's first high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane will be a four-year demonstration project on southbound I-680 between Pleasanton and Milpitas. Although the Sunol Grade HOT lane may seem to be a quick response to recent suggestions by Governor Schwarzenegger, it has been in the planning stages for some time. Alameda County's 2000 transportation sales tax measure included funding for a Sunol Grade express lane, and state legislation was passed in the 2004 session to authorize projects in the Bay Area and in San Diego. The start of construction was scheduled to begin later this year, but has been postponed because of the shortfall in state transportation funding.
Disparaged by some as "Lexus lanes" and touted by others as an efficient use of underutilized freeway lanes, HOT lanes are a "hot" topic in transportation statewide, as the revenues they raise could supplement dwindling funds from other sources.
HOT lanes are high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, which serve carpools and transit, equipped with technology which enables charging a toll for vehicles that do not usually qualify for a HOV lane, i.e. vehicles occupied by one person. The toll can be a flat toll for the entire distance traveled, or can vary by the mile, and can also be higher at more congested times of the day. Carpools and transit continue to travel free. Revenues are often earmarked for use in the HOT lane corridor.
The Alameda County Congestion Management Agency (ACCMA) will develop the I-680 "smart carpool" lane demonstration project in cooperation with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). The CMA is drawing on technology and experience from southern California and elsewhere in the country. In San Diego, HOT lanes are available on I-15 for 8 miles north of the city, and in Orange County, the privately constructed SR 91 toll road has been in operation since 1995. These projects have helped to answer many questions about how to effectively operate HOT lanes.
Although the Orange County HOT lanes were constructed as new lanes, the I-680 HOT lane will use an upgraded southbound high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane currently used by carpools and limited express buses. Toll-collection infrastructure will be added, which will read the same transponders that are already used for FasTrak toll collection on Bay Area bridges. Unlike the southern California HOT lanes, which are 8 or 9 miles long and run from a single entry point to a single exit point, the 14-mile Sunol Grade HOT lane will have several entry and exit locations, indicated by breaks in the solid double yellow stripes used to separate the HOT lane from lanes carrying regular freeway traffic. Transponder readers will be located after each entry point. If a vehicle without a transponder passes the reader, an indicator light will alert law enforcement that a violation is occurring and the vehicle can be pulled over for ticketing.
During hours when the lane is restricted to HOV/HOT use, drivers will be alerted to the current price per mile as they approach entry points for the lane. Once they enter, that price will apply to their entire trip. The price can be varied, increasing as the lane becomes more crowded, so that at some point drivers decide to stay in regular lanes and traffic in the HOT lane continues to flow faster. For example, in San Diego the average price during commute hours is $4 for the 8.5 mile trip, but can rise to as much as $8 when accidents or other events create excessive demand. Decreasing the toll can encourage more drivers to use the lane, making more efficient use of the total freeway capacity.
As a demonstration project, the Sunol Grade HOT lanes will be the Bay Area's first test of the arguments in favor of charging tolls on highways that have traditionally been free to all drivers. These arguments include more efficient use of HOV lanes and of freeway capacity, countering complaints by drivers that often carpool lanes are relatively empty and should be used to relieve gridlocked traffic in adjacent lanes. Studies and experience in other areas suggest that the HOT lane could pull about 10% of vehicles from other lanes during peak commute hours without adversely affecting the capacity and speed of the HOT lane. Data from southern California also show an increase in carpool use as drivers become more familiar with HOT/HOV lanes.
Time savings are estimated at 15 minutes per trip in 2007, and could be 25 minutes per trip in 20 years as the freeway becomes more congested. While there is a perception that only wealthy drivers will benefit from HOT lanes, experience has shown that a wide range of drivers use the lanes when they are available, often business or delivery employees with deadlines, or parents hurrying to make a daycare pickup. For these drivers, the HOT lane provides a choice that would not be available with conventional HOV lanes and the money is a worthwhile tradeoff for the ability to stay on schedule. For other drivers who prefer not to pay, traffic flow in their lanes may also ease, as paying drivers move into the HOT lane.
One of the most persuasive arguments for HOT lanes in financially constrained Bay Area counties is new revenue that can be used for transportation. Revenues for the I-680 HOT lane are estimated to be $3.1 million in the first year and $6.1 million by year 20 of operation. These revenues could double if a northbound HOV/HOT lane becomes available. Over 20 years, the net revenue for the southbound lane could be $41.5 million after operating costs of $1.5-$2 million/year are paid. The operating costs include the cost of CHP enforcement.
Revenues from San Diego HOT lanes are dedicated to rapid bus service in the corridor. In Alameda and Santa Clara Counties, HOT lane revenues would be spent in the corridor, and could fund operations, completion of a northbound carpool lane or other capital improvements, or additional transit service. A joint powers board that includes ACCMA, VTA and the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority, which administers the county's transportation sales tax revenues, is being formed to set priorities and distribute revenues.
The Sunol Grade demonstration project is the first segment of what could become a HOT lane network throughout the Bay Area. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has included a HOT lane plan as part of the recently adopted Transportation 2030 Plan. The regional plan shows a first phase network along I-80 from Vallejo to the Bay Bridge, along I-580 from Livermore to Hayward, and on most of the HOV lanes and connecting freeways south of the San Mateo Bridge. A second phase would add Hwy 101 from Petaluma to San Mateo, I-680, Hwy 24 and Hwy 4 in Contra Costa County, and I-80 between the Bay Bridge and Hayward.
A regional HOT lane network would require state and federal legislation and cooperation by Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol for effective implementation. However, if drivers on the Sunol Grade respond well in mid-2009 when that HOT lane becomes available, the timetable may be accelerated for other HOT lanes in the region. With revenues being collected to offset implementation costs, HOT lanes may be one of the more achievable congestion-relief programs available to the Bay Area in the near future.
Leslie Stewart
For more information: Jean Hart, ACCMA, 510-836-2560; jhart@accma.ca.gov
Online at http://www.accma.ca.gov/pdf/hot_lanes_fall_2003.pdf