Type of Scheme
- Tolled motorway lanes with variable charging.
Date of Introduction
Background
- In 1996, High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes began operation on Interstate 15 allowing only vehicles with more than one passenger to use dedicated lanes allowing them to avoid delays and congestion in the regular lanes, free of charge.
- Due to poor take-up of HOV lanes, rules for their use were extended in 1999 to allow single driver vehicles to use this express option (FasTrak) in return for paying a toll.
- The scheme has been extended indefinitely, beyond the originally scheduled 3-year-long operation until the end of 1999.
Aims
- to maximise use of existing capacity on HOV lanes;
- to use congestion pricing to fund transit services throughout the corridor;
- to test whether congestion pricing can help relieve congestion.
How it Works
Charges:
- Car-poolers and vehicles with 2 or more occupants can always use the facility for free.
- Single driver vehicles using lanes from 5:45 am to 11:00 am in the southbound direction and from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm in the northbound direction pay a charge. On Friday evenings, a charge is payable northbound until midnight.
- Actual tolls are based on real-time traffic levels on the I-15 Express Lanes.
- The toll is posted on roadside FasTrak toll signs located before the entrance to the Express Lanes.
- On normal commute days, the toll does not exceed $4.00. To maintain free-flow on the Express Lanes at all times, tolls may be raised up to $8.00 in the event of severe traffic congestion. The actual toll posted on the roadside FasTrak toll signs is the price a driver pays as a FasTrak User.
Technology:
- Drivers must fit an electronic tag inside their vehicle so that the electronic toll collection (ETC) system can communicate with vehicle to establish its presence and deduct the toll from a prepaid account (also set up by the driver).
- This is made possible with antennas installed in the overhead gantries that are able to register the in-vehicle electronic device.
- Technology is able to recognise traffic conditions and if 'Level of Service' is about to be threatened, the fee for using the system is increased.
- Such fee adjustments could be made every six minutes and displayed at the FasTrak toll signs.
- System always set to benefit the user: if the price goes up just after user saw it, the original, lower fee is charged. If the price went down just after the user passed the toll sign, the lower fee is charged.
Enforcement:
- California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers stationed at the toll zone visually inspect carpool vehicles and FasTrak customers.
- An electronic monitor tells officers if a solo motorist is a qualified FasTrak customer who has paid a toll.
Revenue
- State legislation requires all revenues are used for transit improvements in the I-15 corridor.
- New express bus service was funded and continues to improve transportation accessibility and service along the I-15 corridor.
- Revenue also helps pay off bonds issued to finance maintenance, operations and enforcement of the lanes.
Benefits/Results
- Revenues funded new express bus service improving transportation accessibility and service.
- Travel times for express bus service impressive as a result of relatively free-flowing travel lanes, especially during rush hour.
- Better take-up of the express lane facility and congestion relief on the main lanes brought significant delay reduction for all users.
- Cost of delay reduction alone large enough to justify original capital investment in project.
- All benefit/ cost analyses proved FasTrak project's benefits out-numbered its costs in any 20-year analysis scenario.
- No negative affects on car-pool/ share volumes on the express lanes.
- Successful redistribution of traffic volumes from the middle of the peak to the peak shoulders.
- Average peak period volumes generally decreased slightly.
- Continued operation of FasTrak beyond pilot period is testimony to success and public acceptance of project.
Public Opinion
- Attitudinal Panel study found vast majority of users perceived project as fair and the use of congestion pricing to better utilise the express lanes received considerable support.
- Lack of significant negative impacts are likely to play a role in explaining the positive support for the project.
- FasTrak customers perceived that express lanes positively impacted on their travel time by 20-minute time savings which matched actual measurements.
- Great majority of all other travellers reported no negative impacts of the programme.
- FasTrak users, as well as I-15 car-poolers continuously perceived traffic conditions as satisfactory. This is a particularly important finding, demonstrating congestion pricing policy has been successful in maintaining good level of service.
- Majority of all respondents favoured increasing per-trip charge over other solutions to prevent the express lanes from becoming too crowded.
Location of the I-15 Express lanes north of the center of San Diego
Reference
Janusz Supernak (2005). HOT Lanes on Interstate 15 in San Diego: Technology, Impacts and Equity Issues. PIARC Seminar on Road Pricing with emphasis on Financing, Regulation and Equity, Cancun, Mexico
publications.piarc.org/ressources/publications_files/3/1662,RR327-036.pdf.
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