I-680 Value Pricing: A HOT Lane Demonstration Project of

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I-680 Value Pricing A HOT Lane Demonstration
Project of Smart Carpool Lanes

• Sponsor Alameda County Congestion
• Management Agency
• 2003

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Why High-Occupancy-Toll (HOT) Lanes?

• Provide another option for travelers
• More efficient use of HOV lane and freeway
  capacity
• Generate revenue for transportation improvements
• Maintain public support for HOV lanes

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Why I-680?

• New HOV lanes planned
• 14-mile freeway distance with heavy congestion
  and directional commute traffic
• Relatively few interim on/off users Silicon
  Valley jobs on south end
• Sufficient right-of-way
• Financial needs

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How will tolls be collected?

• All electronic toll collection (no toll booths).
  
• Same technology as the current Fastrak system
  used for collection on all San Francisco Bay Area
  bridges.

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How does a driver know where to enter or exit
the HOV/HOT lane?

• Combined HOV/HOT lane will be separated form the
  regular freeway lanes by solid double yellow
  stripes.
• Vehicles may legally enter or exit the HOV/HOT
  only at designated locations, where there is a
  gap in the solid stripes.

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How will it be enforced?

• Enforcement will be primarily done by California
  Highway Patrol.
• A light will flash on an overhead reader
  indicating when a toll-paying vehicle is using
  the lane.
• Enforcement will be supplemented with video
  surveillance cameras as deterrent.

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How will toll levels be set?

• Highest toll during peak-periods, lower shoulder
  and off-peak, nominal nighttime
• Tolls will be adjusted up or down periodically
  depending on demand
• Toll adjusted to ensure the combined HOV/HOT lane
  is never congested
• HOVs always ride for free

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Toll setting methodology

• Begin with travel demand forecasts from regional
  model with no tolls
• Using ECONorthwest Toll Optimization Model (TOM),
  derive first-run toll structure
• TOM solves for tolls that meet efficiency,
  revenue maximization, throughput or other desired
  goals, interacting with regional model
• Adjust toll levels and hourly traffic volumes for
  tolled and untolled lanes until efficiency
  criteria are optimized

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Toll-setting methodology

• Users toll/non-toll decision based on tradeoff
  between travel time savings and paying toll
• Importance of continuous distribution of users
  value-of-time for toll-setting
• Account for peak-spreading over time
• 5 toll levels 2 peaks, 2 shoulders, off-peak
• 2 3 carpool policies tested with and without
  intermediate access

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Peak Toll Levels in 2006 (2002 )
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How much will the toll be?

• Expected starting peak toll between 3.00 and
  4.00
• Toll will be adjusted up or down depending on
  demand
• Toll adjusted to ensure the combined HOV/HOT lane
  is never congested

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Gross HOT Lane Revenues

• Total revenues
• Tolls would generate between 6.3 and 14.7
  million in revenues in 2006 between 12.3 and
  31.9 million in 2025.
• For all Alternatives, carpool policy has dramatic
  effect on revenue
• HOV 3 policy generates significantly more
  revenue.

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Net Operating Income

• At realistic 4 discount rate, 20-year net
  present value of operating incomes (million 2002
  dollars), for 2 and 3 carpool policies and with
  and without intermediate access (IA)

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How will toll revenues be spent?

• Pay for HOT lane operations
• Improved bus service on I-680 corridor
• Capital improvements on I-680 corridor

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What will we learn from the demonstration project?

• Do drivers see HOT lane as worthwhile?
• How much are they willing to pay?
• How many vehicles and people can move through the
  corridor? At what speeds?
• Can smooth traffic flow be maintained?
• How much revenue will be generated?
• Will it be perceived as fair?

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What are the challenges?

• Enforcement toll collection effectiveness
• Impact on HOVs
• Constraint on access to HOV/HOT lane
• Institutional arrangements/management
• Bay Area drivers unfamiliarity with toll roads
  and restricted access HOV lanes

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Other Northern California Studies

• I-880 commercial vehicles
• Sonoma/Marin US 101 HOT Lanes
• Santa Cruz Highway 1
• Bay Bridge Congestion Pricing