October 2003

Vice Mayor Pat Dando

A HOT Solution to San Jose's Traffic Woes

It's a scene that is all too familiar---traffic on the freeway is at a standstill and we see the carpool lane is practically empty. There is great temptation to dart into the carpool lane to get to work, a meeting, or doctor's appointment on time. Yet, the potential fine of $271 for not having a second person in the car leaves us stuck in gridlock. This may be the time to find a way to make our highways more efficient.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is expected to consider studying a plan to make better use of carpool lanes, reduce traffic congestion, and generate revenue for local transit and road projects. This solution could allow the conversion of carpool lanes into High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes.

The concept is straightforward. Solo motorists would have the opportunity to pay a toll to ride in the carpool lane; the incentive for carpooling remains unchanged. Carpoolers would still have the same free access to these lanes as they do now, but, for a fee, every driver would also have the opportunity to use them.

We have all found ourselves in a situation where time is of the essence only to be hopelessly stuck on Highway 101, 880, 680, or 87. HOT lanes provide us with choices and alternatives. They provide the option of paying a small toll to bypass traffic when we really need to and not paying when we are not in a hurry. The VTA study will identify locations in Santa Clara County where these lanes would be most effective as well as potential toll rates.

HOT lanes are popping up around the country, especially in California. On San Diego's Interstate 15, a HOT lane opened in 1996. Commuters and transportation experts have hailed the eight-mile facility as a success in reducing traffic and producing revenue. Tolls range from $0.50 to $4.00 depending on commute time and generate nearly $2.0-million each year, more than half of which is pure profit.

Orange County's ten miles of toll lanes on Route 91 let individuals bypass some of the worst gridlock in the region for a small fee. These HOT lanes constitute 1/3 of the freeway's capacity and have proven effective. They carry more than 40% of total traffic on Route 91 with an average speed of 65 mph. Toll charges vary from $0.60 to $3.20 and are collected in a manner similar to the FasTrack system we currently use on Bay Area bridges. Since the lanes opened in 1995, toll revenue has totaled over $135-million. This money pays for all operating costs and helps finance new road improvement and transit projects for the local area.

Some critics of HOT lanes call them “Lexus Lanes,” implying that only the wealthy will benefit. However, studies on the demographics of HOT lane users found no socio-economic difference among those users and non-users of these toll lanes. They are not used solely by the affluent; drivers of all income levels will pay the small toll when they need to get somewhere on time. Additionally, non-users of HOT lanes favor them because they free up space in all freeway lanes as they disperse traffic more evenly causing everyone's travel time to decrease.

Carpool lanes were created to reduce the pollution that cars emit by encouraging people to ride share. However, we don't see the full environmental benefits of carpool lanes because our busy lives have not allowed us to carpool as often as we would like. During peak traffic gridlock, air pollution emissions are 250% higher than in free-flowing traffic conditions. HOT lanes will benefit our environment. By spreading out the cars on our freeways, the number of vehicles stuck in traffic emitting harmful pollutants will be reduced without building one new mile of highway.

The economic impact of traffic congestion nationally is in the billions of dollars. It costs more in gas for our cars, lost time at work, additional day care costs, and the list goes on. Properly used, HOT lanes promise to be an effective tool to improve traffic congestion, improve the environment, and generate revenue for local road and transit projects.

Over the next few months VTA will be considering this issue in great detail. I welcome your thoughts, comments, and experiences with HOT lanes.