| About high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes | |||
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Description A High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane is a High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane with available capacity that can be used by Single Occupant Vehicles (SOV) for a fee/toll. HOT lanes are a way to increase the amount of persons traveling on a given corridor without building more freeways or expanding existing ones. With the conversion of Houston’s HOV Lanes to HOT Lanes, buses and other High Occupancy Vehicles (HOVs) will retain priority and be allowed on the Lanes without a fee. Single Occupancy Vehicles (SOVs) will be allowed on the Lanes as long as there is capacity to maintain an average 50mph speed over the length of the Lane. The proposed plan will use “dynamic tolling”; that is, the toll will increase as the HOT Lane’s congestion increases. The fee may change several times per hour, or even disallow SOVs from entry, especially at peak travel time. This proposed system will encourage those commuters who can, to travel by bus or carpool, while still offering those SOVs facing a critical scheduling problem, the option to pay for a ride on the Lane. Since the tolling revenue would help improve enforcement, abuses experienced in today's HOV lanes would reduce significantly. These improvements would include:
A Matter of ChoiceHOT lanes and managed lanes are strategies within the broader concept congestion management. The success of the HOT lanes hinges upon an automated toll signage and collecting system, very similar to EZ Tag currently used by the Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA). The automated system will provide solo drivers (and 2-person carpools during times with 3+ occupancy requirements) with an additional choice. They would know the current toll well before they can decide whether to enter the HOT lane. Although METRO has not yet established the toll amounts, the goal in setting these is to affect the behavior of commuters, who can make informed decisions on the time, mode, route and expense of their trip. The introduction of a HOT Lane option will add a sixth choice to this "commuter's decision" list: (a) park and ride the bus; (b) carpool with more riders; (c) change the commuting times to an earlier or later time; (d) take another route; (e) drive on the main lanes. Why have HOT lanes rather than just HOV's? Replaces QuickRide: HOT lanes replaces the current QuickRide program by offering the HOV lane to a larger community og commuters. No need to register and have a special transponder: an EZ tag (or METRO equivalent) will do and METRO will transfet all our QuickRide accounts to HOT lane accounts automatically. Efficiency: METRO wants to be able to move more people and vehicles in the managed lanes. Although some HOV lanes are currently congested at the peak of rush hour, these facilities are underutilized the rest of the day. METRO is already studying the possibility of increasing the occupancy level at the most congested HOV lanes. However, at mid morning, when there is still some congestion on the main lanes, some vehicles that would not meet the minimum occupancy requirement may choose to pay the toll to get to their destination faster and more reliable. Level of Service (LOS): METRO wants to preserve (and even improve) the LOS for commuter bus routes. Managing occupancy restrictions as well as the price will allow METRO to maintain a level of service of about 1,500 vehicles per hour. This would translate into an approximate speed of about 50 mph, improving METRO bus service on time performance and presenting an advantage to carpoolers as well. Transportation Funding: According to the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), "limited land availability, scarce funds, and social and environmental concerns may prevent adding new freeway lanes. The combination of these factors is forcing transportation planners and engineers to explore new ways to more effectively operate the existing transportation network. ‘Managed lanes' is one such concept that is being used successfully across the country." HOT Lanes revenues will first be applied to METRO's managed lane operating cost, which is currently paid from sales tax revenues. In addition, over time the revenue may grow to provide funding for transit expansion. Which HOV lanes will be included? Five lanes are expected to be part of the program: the Northwest HOV lane (US 290), the North HOV lane (I-45 North), the Eastex HOV lane (US 59 North), the Gulf HOV lane (I-45 south) and the Southwest HOV lane (US 59 South). The Katy HOV lane, which will be converted to managed lanes in 2008 or 2009 by the Harris County Toll Road Authority, is not included. More information on the Katy project is available through a link found at the right margin of this page. |
About HOT lanes Where managed lanes work: Learn more about: Ongoing research by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) A Fact Sheet published by the University of Minnesota |
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