MnPASS I-394 High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes Case Study 7 group: Brendon Slotterback Chris Romansky Feng Xie Gabe Gubash /trafficinfo/metrocams/cameras /c911.html fficinfo/metrocams/cameras/c906. html

History Authorized by 2003 Minnesota Legislature Conversion of existing HOV lanes to HOT lanes First of its kind in Minnesota Could open in Spring 2005 Public/private partnership between State and Wilbur & Associates

Goals Maximize corridor capacity Reduce construction of new infrastructure Improve carpool and bus service

What is this thing? Based on the premise of congestion or “value” pricing –Price is dynamic, based on congestion levels and distance from CBD –“…a way of harnessing the power of the market and reducing the waste associated with congestion.” - valuepricing.org Lanes for carpoolers will now be priced for SOV trips Buses have free access

Speed In General Purpose Lanes Traffic In Managed Lanes $2.00 $1.00 $3.00 Demand / Price / Operations Equilibrium

Why I-394? Location selected based on 4 criteria: –Does the proposed project solve a problem? (congestion) –Revenue Potential –What will it take to build? –What are the system configurations?

Congestion I-394

Other considerations

HOT lanes schematic

Hours of Operation – Current Hours East of Highway 100 (Reversible Section) Eastbound: 6 AM – 1 PM Westbound: 2 PM – Midnight Weekends – As Needed West of Highway 100 Eastbound: AM Westbound: PM

Existing High Occupancy/Toll (HOT) Lanes Source of all photos: SR91 official website, CA

Only 4 HOT lane facilities are currently operating in the US: –State Route 91 (SR 91) Express Lanes at Orange County, CA; –I-15 FasTrak, at San Diego, CA –Katy Freeway QuickRide, and –Northwest Freeway (US 290) QuickRide, both at Harris County, TX Existing HOT Lanes

State Route 91 (SR 91) Express Lanes

The first privately funded and operated electronic variable toll facility in the US A 10-mile, four lane, HOT facility Toll rates vary from $0.75 to $4.75 by time of day and day of the week Tolls for HOV2+ vehicles are reduced by 50 percent. State Route 91 (SR 91) Express Lanes

I-15 FasTrak

Sponsored by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and the local metropolitan planning organization (MPO) Peak-period reversible HOT lanes converted from an underutilized preexisting eight-mile 2-lane HOV lane SOVs pay a toll ranging from $0.50 to $4.00 to use the HOT lanes while HOV2+ vehicles may use the facility at no cost I-15 FasTrak

Katy Freeway QuickRide I-10 Northwest Freeway QuickRide US 290

Sponsored by Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, TX (METRO) An existing highway with a 13-mile, 6-lane freeway with 1 reversible HOV lane initially operated at HOV 2 and then at HOV 3 The QuickRide program allows HOV 2 vehicles to pay $2.00 per trip to use the facility during peak periods, while HOV 3+ vehicles continued to use the facility at no cost Katy Freeway QuickRide

Northwest Freeway (US 290) QuickRide A HOT converted from a 1-lane, barrier- separated, 15.5 mile, reversible HOV facility From 6:45AM to 8:00AM, when the facility serves inbound traffic, HOV3+ vehicle may use the lane for free Vehicles with 2+ occupants must pay $2.00, while SOVs are never allowed to use the lane

Physical similarities: – HOT lanes rely on electronic payment systems or paid monthly passes during test pilot periods –All systems have fixed and variable signs to provide information about access, hours, prices, etc –HOT lanes are physically separated from the parallel general-purpose lanes by continuous concrete barriers or a fence of collapsible pylons Creation: –HOT lanes may be created through new capacity construction or conversion of existing lanes –Conversion of existing HOV lanes to HOT operation is most common Existing HOT Lanes in Summary

Occupancy Requirements: –Qualifying HOVs are allowed to use HOT lane facilities at no cost or at a reduced toll. HOVs are usually defined as vehicles carrying 2+ or 3+ persons Pricing Systems: –Toll levels are set to limit the number of users by willingness to pay –The fee structure may be fixed, varying by time of day, or dynamic, varying in response to real-time traffic conditions. Existing HOT Lanes in Summary

Retains benefits for HOVs: Fees are reduced or eliminated for HOVs Congestion pricing control: Toll levels can be set to limit throughput to ensure free flowing conditions on HOT lanes HOT Lane Benefits

Increased utilization of existing infrastructure –Recent decline in HOV lane use –HOV lanes may not best serve the public SOV freedom vs coordinating carpool HOV users may already carpool without the benefit of exclusive facilities (i.e. family, workers, etc) Benefits of HOT Lanes…

Availability of Technology: –MnPASS avoids toll booths through remote fee collection Saves time for users Avoids paying toll collector employees Maintains current infrastructure: –Mn/DOT maintenance objective Improve existing facilities before building new Save expense and complications of acquiring new right of way Benefits of HOT Lanes…

Negatives Regarding HOT Lanes

Merging Problems Traffic flow impeded by merging traffic will decrease free-flow speeds Merging will cause an increase of interactions among cars and therefore increase the probability of accidents The HOT lanes will be the interior lanes of the freeway; this will result in people crossing multiple lanes to enter the HOT lanes from entrance ramps and exit from the HOT lanes. This could contribute to more accidents.

Costs Initial costs: $11 million Annual operating costs: $1.5 million Minneapolis would need congestion levels similar to Chicago in order for lanes to fund themselves with tolls alone Some private or government money would need to be raised in order for lanes to remain functional. The cost may deter high occupancy vehicles from using the lane that would otherwise use the lane

Loss of HOV lanes Bus lanes and HOV lanes would be replaced with the toll lanes Any busses and HOVs would have to deal with higher levels of congestion in the lanes New busses would have to be commissioned to compensate for traffic level increases caused by people choosing to drive SOVs as apposed to HOVs.

Questions… Should MnPASS be implemented even if it cannot pay for itself? Should the lanes be priced even when demand is very low? Do benefits outweigh the costs? Might this have implications for land use? If so, what are they? Shouldn’t we be able to drive wherever and whenever we want? Should private investors contribute to the project? –Who will be responsible for system losses not recovered by the tolls? Equity issues with using HOT lanes –Accessible to all income brackets? –Will it discourage current HOV users? –Will it optimize throughput on the freeway or will it be underutilized ? Are other transportation services more worthy of funds? –Bus –Rail –Freeway