Value Pricing Pilot Program: Lessons Learned – Appendix B

• A feasibility study, completed in 2005, applied the FAIR lanes concept of variable tolling to two specific freeway segments in Alameda and Santa Clara counties in California:  I‑580 and I‑680.
• The FAIR (Fair And Intertwined Regular) lanes concept rewards drivers choosing to use general purpose lanes, instead of adjacent HOT express lanes by providing credits to those drivers that can be used on HOT lanes at another time.  The intent is to improve the public acceptability of HOT lanes and address concerns that HOT lanes are only affordable by the wealthy.
• During the study, the lane concept was renamed HOT/Credit lanes to better communicate the project’s scope, intent, and comprehension with the title.
• A separate pilot program also was funded by FHWA to evaluate new travel options through electronically assisted dynamic ridesharing.
• There were two components to this study:  HOT lane Credits Study (FAIR Lanes); and Dynamic Ridesharing Study.

HOT/Credit Study

• Completed in August 2005, the HOT/Credit (HOT/C) Lanes feasibility study examined two potential corridors:
  • The I‑580 corridor of Greenville Road/Altamont Pass Road to the east and the I‑580/I‑680 junction to the west; and
  • The I‑680 corridor of Route 237 (Santa Clara County) to the south and Route 84 (Alameda County) to the north.
• Due to political concerns and the physical characteristics of the corridors (neither freeway segment has convenient, parallel free routes), a modified version of the FAIR lanes concept, the HOT/Credit Lane, was developed and studied instead.
• The study analyzed key aspects of the FAIR lanes concept, including:  toll revenues, impact on vehicle volumes and speeds, travel forecasting, freeway operations, and public perceptions.
• The economic and performance impacts of 14 alternative policy scenarios were analyzed in terms of revenue generated and traffic measures, such as vehicle speeds and volumes.  The 14 policy scenarios evaluated included the following categories:
  • Conventional HOV lanes, with no tolling and no HOT/C credits.
  • Conventional HOT lanes, with free passage for HOV, tolling for non-HOVs, but no HOT/C credits.
  • HOT lanes with HOT/C credits for low-income users only (Limited Eligibility).
  • HOT Lanes with HOT/C credits to all users regardless of income (100 Percent Eligibility).
    The variables used to create the policy alternatives were:
    1) Credit rate in which eligible users earn a “free” trip on the HOT lane.
    2) Low-income only versus all users eligibility criteria for HOT/C lanes credits.
    3) Two-person or more versus 3-person or more definitions of an eligible carpool.

Dynamic Ridesharing Study

• RideNow, a test program at the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station, operated from November 2005 to May 2006.  An automated system allowed BART commuters to use web- and telephone-based systems to find carpool partners on a “real-time” basis and offered preferred parking incentives at BART stations for participation.

• VPPP funding in FY 2002 equaled $595,250 for the two studies.  The total cost of the RideNow pilot program was $213,000 from pre-planning and marketing through 6 months of operation.

• This was a limited duration experimental study requiring little broad policy or institutional support.
• The work was led by the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency.

HOT/Credit Study

• The HOT/C study conducted focus groups with frequent users of I‑580 and I‑680 and completed a public opinion survey of residents in Alameda County and the surrounding communities.
• Results suggested that concerns about income equity are not a major determinative factor in public acceptance of HOT lanes, but rather the broad context in which tolls are presented (congestion management versus revenue generation for improvements) is the most sensitive to public opinion.
• Polling indicated that HOT/C was not well supported by the public.

• The RideNow pilot developed an automated telephone and web database system matched carpoolers based on time of travel.  BART patrons could call when on the train and the software would recognize their train and itinerary and provide possible matches.
• There was no specific technology evaluated in the HOT/C portion of the project.

• Equity concerns, as they pertain to low-income users, may be important to elected officials, transit advocates, and other leaders, but they do not appear to be as important to the general public, as found in public surveys and focus groups conducted as part of this study.
• Decision-makers would need to determine that this equity concern is significant enough as an impediment to adoption of HOT lanes that it warrants introducing a complications into the toll structure, operation, and administration into the HOT lanes.  They also may wish to consider other ways to address this perceived equity issue.

HOT/Credit Study

• The HOT/Credit Lanes study identified the following key findings:
  • Addition of HOT/C users would modestly reduce speeds in HOT lanes.
  • Modest travel-time savings for corridor commuters in both HOT and general purpose lanes, would occur with the HOT/C proposal.
  • HOT lane revenues are very sensitive to HOT/C credit rate and eligibility criteria settings, and would likely decrease under any scenario.
  • HOT/C would be relatively inexpensive to implement if HOT lanes already were operational.
  • There is high risk that users with accumulated HOT/C credits may utilize them during the same peak period on the same day, thereby causing drivers to simultaneously shift to express lanes, reducing travel time in HOT express lanes.

Dynamic Ridesharing

• A total of 244 people expressed interest in RideNow between October 2004 and when the program terminated 18 months later, but only 121 (50 percent) actually registered with the program.
• At the conclusion of the 6-month pilot, 141 ride matches out of 1,170 ride requests were made – a 12 percent matching success rate.
• The study found that dynamic ridesharing could be further facilitated with reserved premium parking spaces at participating BART stations, on-demand backup services such as guaranteed rides home by taxi-cab, and in-station electronic information screens providing necessary details about individual ride matches.
• Recommendations indicated The RideNow program should be simplified; Ridesharing programs could be more successful and cost-effective if incorporated into regional programs; person-to-person marketing strategies worked best.

• The HOT/C study conducted focus groups with frequent users of I‑580 and I‑680 and completed a public opinion survey of residents in Alameda County and the surrounding communities. The study analyzed toll revenues, impact on vehicle volumes and speeds, travel forecasting, freeway operations, and public perceptions. The economic and performance impacts of 14 alternative policy scenarios were analyzed in terms of revenue generated and traffic measures, such as vehicle speeds and volumes.
• Dynamic Ridesharing was evaluated by tracking response to the test program, including those expressing interest and proportion actually registering over an 18 month test period. Also tracked were ride matches as a proportion of ride requests