The Value Pricing Pilot Program: What Have We Learned Overview and Perspective on the Program

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The Value Pricing Pilot Program What Have We
Learned? Overview and Perspective on the Program

• Patrick DeCorla-Souza, AICP
• Federal Highway Administration
• Presentation at the Transportation Research Board
  Annual Meeting
• Washington, DC
• January 14, 2004

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Overview

• Projects in the Pilot Program
• What have we learned from operational projects?
• Issues with stalled projects
• Overcoming barriers

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Operational Pricing Projects

• United States
• Lane pricing existing or new
• Variable tolls on toll facilities
• Abroad
• Cordon tolls or area congestion charges
• Truck tolls

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What are Priced Lanes?

• Tolls
• Vary by level of demand
• On single lanes or multiple lanes
• Purpose
• To manage demand on freeways
• Improve travel time reliability
• Generate revenue

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Some Lane Pricing Alternatives

• HOT lanes HOV lanes which permit non-HOVs
  paying a toll
• Priced express lanes new lanes on existing free
  roads or toll roads
• Truck Tollways
• FAIR lanes tolls on some existing free lanes
  with credits provided to those negatively affected

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FAIR Lanes Concept

• Convert an additional existing lane to make two
  Fast lanes
• Provide high quality transit in Fast lanes
• Credits for vehicles in regular lanes

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Operational Lane Pricing

• Converting HOV to HOT
• San Diego, CA
• Houston, TX
• New tolled lanes
• Orange County, CA

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HOV to HOT Conversion

• Examples
• I-15, San Diego
• I-10 and US 290, Houston

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Priced New Lanes Orange County

• SR 91 -
• Four new lanes in median, 10 miles
• Tolls are 1.00 to 5.50

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HOT or Priced Lanes Under Study

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Georgia
• Maryland
• Also, truck toll lanes proposed on I-81 in
  Virginia

• Minnesota
• North Carolina
• Oregon
• Texas
• Virginia
• Washington

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Projects Closest to Implementation

• I-10, Houston, TX
• I-15, San Diego, CA
• I-25, Denver, Colorado
• LBJ Freeway, Dallas, TX
• I-680, Alameda County, CA
• I-394, Twin Cities, MN

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Variable Tolls on Toll Facilities

• Examples
• N. J. Turnpike
• New Yorks Hudson river crossings
• Ft. Myers bridges

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Overview

• Priced lane projects in the Pilot Program
• What have we learned from operational projects?
• Issues with stalled projects
• Overcoming barriers

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What Have We Learned San Diego

• Tolls vary dynamically
• Ensures that lanes are always free-flowing

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What Have We Learned San Diego

• Peak hour toll up to 4
• Revenues of 2 million per year
• Tolls fund transit

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What Have We Learned San Diego

• HOT lanes provide choices to motorists
• Those in a hurry now have a way to bypass
  congestion
• New transit service supported by revenues from
  tolls
• Public support is high

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Public Opinion Survey Results

• 70 approval for existing HOT Lanes
• 84 favor HOT Lanes extension, which integrates
  bus rapid transit

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Public Opinion Survey Results

• Fair for some to be able to purchase what others
  cannot purchase

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SR 91 What Have We Learned?

• Orange County
• As congestion on regular lanes increases, vehicle
  throughput decreases
• HOT lanes maintain their throughput

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SR 91 What Have We Learned?

• SR 91
• Throughput per lane is one-third higher

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SR 91 What Have We Learned?

• SR 91
• Toll-paying SOVs save 20-30 min. relative to
  congested lanes
• Trip time is reliable

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SR 91 What Have We Learned?

• Trade-off between revenue and mobility
• Discounts or exemptions for HOVs reduce revenue
• More congestion in regular lanes results in
  higher toll rate

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SR 91 What Have We Learned?

• SR 91
• All income groups use the priced lanes
• But higher-income commuters use them more often
• Free service for HOV3 most of the time 50
  discount in peak hours

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SR 91 What Have We Learned?

• Generates Funds Pricing can support costs of new
  lanes if conditions are right
• Manages Peak Traffic Keeps new capacity from
  getting congested
• Private-Public Agreements Non-compete clause
  can pose a problem

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Variable Tolls on Toll Facilities What Have We
Learned?

• New York 4 to 7 reduction in peak traffic
• Peak toll is 25 higher than off-peak
• Florida 71 of participants shifted time of
  travel at least once a week
• Off-peak discount is 50

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Overview

• Priced lane projects in the Pilot Program
• What have we learned from operational priced lane
  projects?
• Issues with stalled projects
• Overcoming barriers

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So Why is Adoption So Slow?

• Political issues geographic and income equity
  induced travel/ sprawl with new capacity
• Technical issues cost, financial feasibility,
  traffic operations (access/ egress), enforcement
• Hard to find the right mix of supporting
  factors like SR 91 space in median, long trips,
  high congestion

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Projects Stalled by Political Issues

• Route 50 in Maryland
• Initial proposal on I-394 in Minnesota
• Regional network by United Infrastructure in
  Puget Sound, WA
• Bay Bridge in San Francisco, CA
• I-4 in Orlando, FL
• Route 101 in Sonoma County, CA

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Projects Stalled by Technical Issues

• Route 1 in Santa Cruz, CA
• I-880 in Alameda County, CA
• SR 91 extension in Riverside County, CA
• SR 57 public-private proposal, Orange County, CA

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Why is Progress Slow?

• Lack of public understanding of pricing
  strategies and their benefits
• Some real issues, e.g., equity
• Public resistance leads to lack of willingness to
  take risk
• Planners lack adequate models to analyze impacts
  traffic, revenues, performance, benefits vs.
  costs

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Overview

• Priced lane projects in the Pilot Program
• What have we learned from operational priced lane
  projects?
• Issues in stalled projects
• Overcoming barriers

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Overcoming Public Resistance

• Roads already paid for
• Costs for providing peak hour service not
  understood
• Double taxation
• Lack of understanding of true cost of peak
  capacity vs. fuel taxes paid
• Traffic diversion to neighborhood streets
• Use of credits to discourage diversions
• Advanced arterial management operations

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Overcoming Equity Concerns

• Not fair to provide better mobility to the
  wealthy
• Data show low-income motorists consider it fair
  and do use priced lanes
• Make benefits to low-income travelers part of the
  package
• Use toll revenues to provide new transit services
• Provide toll credits to low-income motorists
• Provide credits to motorists in regular lanes

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Concluding Thoughts

• Time may be ripe to incorporate pricing into
  planning and project development
• Overcoming public resistance requires packaging
  of strategies and education
• Analytical tools are needed to compare pricing
  packages with alternatives

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For Further Information

• See the Value Pricing Websites at
• www.valuepricing.org
• FHWA web sites http//www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/otp
  s/valuepricing.htm
• http//knowledge.fhwa.dot.gov/cops/hcx.nsf/home
  
• Contact the FHWA Value Pricing Team at
• Patrick.decorla-souza_at_fhwa.dot.gov
• 202-366-4076