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
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          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  








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          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