BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1811 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 21, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair AB 1811 (Buchanan) - As Amended: April 8, 2014 SUBJECT : High-occupancy toll lanes: Alameda and Santa Clara counties SUMMARY : Authorizes the Sunol Smart Carpool Lane Joint Powers Authority (SSCLJPA) and the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) to require high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane drivers to use electronic tolling equipment for enforcement purposes in high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes. EXISTING LAW : 1)Authorizes SCCLJPA to conduct, administer, and operate a HOT lane program on the Sunol Grade segment of Interstate 680 (I-680) in Alameda and Santa Clara counties. 2)Authorizes Alameda CTC to conduct, administer, and operate a HOT lane program on a separate, unspecified corridor in Alameda County. 3)Requires HOVs to have unrestricted access to the HOT lanes operated under these provisions. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS: This bill's sponsor, Alameda CTC, operates HOT lanes in the southbound direction of I-680. It is also developing HOT lanes on northbound I-680 and on I-580. These facilities will eventually be part of a much larger network of HOT lanes currently being developed throughout the Bay Area. In anticipation of this development, the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA), the tolling arm of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), commissioned a study to assess the feasibility of implementing self-declare switchable toll tags. These toll tags allow a driver to self-declare up to three occupancy settings (such as HOV or solo driver) for each trip using a switching mechanism (e.g., slide, dial, push button, etc.) on the toll tag. The study found that switchable toll tags will have many operational benefits including enhanced automated AB 1811 Page 2 enforcement, consistency for users on corridors where carpool requirements vary, and reduced revenue leakage due to toll evasion and misread toll tags. One potential drawback of using a switchable toll tag system is that it requires all HOV users to use a toll tag. Currently, carpool vehicles are not required to have a toll tag when using the I-680 express lanes. If the carpool vehicle is equipped with a FasTrak toll tag in the windshield, the driver must remove the toll tag and place it in a Mylar bag for that trip to avoid being charged as a single-occupant vehicle. Alameda CTC and SSCLJPA are concerned that the existing statutory requirement to provide HOV drivers unrestricted access to HOT lanes could impede their ability to require HOV drivers to use a switchable toll tag. AB 1811 remedies this concern by specifically declaring that these agencies may require HOV drivers to use the tolling equipment for enforcement purposes. Writing in support of this bill, MTC notes that while requiring a FasTrak account and toll tag in the vehicle as a condition of access to an express lane for carpools is a change from the current approach on existing HOT lanes in the region, it is not without precedent in the Bay Area. In 2010, BATA instituted a reduced toll rate for carpool vehicles and required payment via FasTrak. The change resulted in a decline in the number of carpool vehicles, but a significant portion of that reduction was attributed to a reduced number of carpool cheaters once the FasTrak requirement was imposed. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is the only entity currently using switchable toll tags in California. In conjunction with this technology, Metro uses license plate recognition (LPR) technology to capture vehicle identification information for vehicles without toll tags. For these vehicles, Metro issues either a bill for the toll (and an offer to purchase a toll tag) or a fine (for repeat offenders). Related legislation : AB 2090 (Fong), includes provisions similar to this bill (in addition to other provisions related to performance measures in HOT lanes). AB 2090 passed out of Assembly Transportation on a vote of 14-1 on March 24, 2014. Previous legislation : AB 2032 (Dutra), Chapter 418, Statutes of 2004, originally authorized Alameda CTC and SSCLJPA to develop AB 1811 Page 3 HOT lanes for demonstration purposes, not to exceed four years. Other HOT lane facilities were also specifically authorized. AB 574 (Torrico), Chapter 498, Statutes of 2007, authorized the HOT lanes indefinitely. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support Alameda County Transportation Commission (sponsor) Metropolitan Transportation Commission Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093