BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2090 Page 1 Date of Hearing: March 24, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair AB 2090 (Fong) - As Amended: March 19, 2014 SUBJECT : Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority: high-occupancy toll lanes SUMMARY : Repeals specific level of service (LOS) requirements for high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and requires instead that VTA, with assistance from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), develop appropriate performance measures for the HOT lanes; authorizes VTA to require high occupancy vehicle lane (HOV) drivers to use electronic tolling equipment for enforcement purposes. EXISTING LAW : 1)Authorizes VTA to conduct, administer, and operate a value-pricing HOT lane program on any two corridors included in the HOV system in Santa Clara County. (A HOT lane established on U.S. 101 may extend into San Mateo County, under certain conditions.) 2)Requires VTA to ensure that its HOT lane program maintains LOS C or LOS D (described below) to ensure optimal use of the HOT lanes by HOVs without adversely affecting other traffic on the state highway system. 3)Requires that HOVs must have unrestricted access to the HOT lanes operated by VTA. 4)Authorizes states, under the federal Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), until September 30, 2017, to allow single-occupant vehicles to pay a toll for use of an HOV facility. States that provide HOV access to single-occupant vehicles must do all the following: a) Monitor the HOV system and report on the impact single-occupant vehicles have on operation of the system; and, b) Limit or discontinue the use of the facility by AB 2090 Page 2 single-occupant vehicles if the presence of the vehicles degrades the operation of the facility. The standard used for purposes of determining whether a facility is degraded is if vehicles operating on the facility are failing to maintain a minimum average operating speed (generally 45 miles per hour) 90% of the time over a consecutive 180 day period during morning or evening weekday peak hour periods. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : Under existing law, VTA's HOT lane program is required to maintain LOS C or, under certain conditions, LOS D. LOS is a commonly used, nationally recognized measure of the "density" of vehicles traveling on a given section of freeway. LOS standards incorporate several measurement components, including maneuverability, driver comfort, effect of minor incidents, average travel speed, spacing between vehicles, vehicle density per mile and a speed-flow-density relationship for roadway sections with different design speeds. LOS is rated from Level A (free flow operation/very good conditions) to Level F (breakdown/lines/very poor conditions). LOS C essentially means traffic is stable and is at or near free-flow conditions. LOS D indicates traffic flow is becoming unstable. While LOS has long been used to characterize the condition of traffic flow, it is not the best tool for managing HOT lanes. For example, under certain traffic conditions LOS C can be interpreted as requiring very high speeds. When a HOT lane is operating adjacent to a highly congested mixed-flow lane, this standard is not appropriate and actually serves to undermine the HOT lane's effectiveness. The author introduced this bill at VTA's request to eliminate specific LOS requirements set forth in existing law for VTA's HOT lanes. VTA is seeking a more flexible, corridor-by-corridor approach to managing its HOT lanes than strict adherence to LOS standards can provide. Under this bill, VTA, along with Caltrans, will develop performance measures to optimize the operational efficiency of the entire corridor. (Federal requirements related to HOV lane degradation will still apply.) Regarding electronic tolling equipment for HOVs, VTA intends to migrate to self-declaration switchable toll tags. These tags AB 2090 Page 3 allow a driver to self-declare their vehicle occupancy status (such as HOV or solo driver) using a switching mechanism (e.g., slide, dial, push button, etc.) on the toll tag. VTA is concerned, however, that the existing statutory requirement that HOV drivers must have unrestricted access to HOT lanes could impede its ability to require HOV drivers to use a switchable toll tag. The bill remedies this concern by specifically declaring that VTA may require HOV drivers to use the tolling equipment for enforcement purposes. Suggested amendment : AB 2090 requires VTA to establish performance measures for its HOT lanes with the assistance of Caltrans. To clarify the role of Caltrans as the owner and operator of the State Highway System, the bill should be amended to require Caltrans' consent on the performance measures to be established. This is more reflective of the respective roles of VTA and Caltrans in operating the HOT lanes. Related legislation : AB 1811 (Buchanan) revises current law as it relates to HOV access on HOT lanes operated by the Sunol Smart Carpool Lane Joint Powers Authority (which oversees the State Route 680 HOT lanes) and the future Alameda County Transportation Commission HOT lanes on State Route 580. Similar to provisions in AB 2090, AB 1811 is intended to allow these agencies to require HOVs to use electronic transponders for enforcement purposes as well. Previous legislation : AB 2032 (Dutra) Chapter 418, Statutes of 2004, originally authorized VTA to develop HOT lane facilities in two corridors in Santa Clara County 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 VTA and other specific agencies to operate HOT lanes indefinitely. AB 1105 (Gordon) Chapter 114, Statutes of 2011, authorized a HOT lane established on U.S. 101 in Santa Clara County to extend into San Mateo County, under certain conditions. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support AB 2090 Page 4 Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (sponsor) None on file Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093