BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2090
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2090 (Fong)
As Amended August 4, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |71-2 |(May 1, 2014) |SENATE: |32-3 |(August 11, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY : Repeals specific level of service (LOS) requirements
for high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes operated by the San Diego
Association of Governments (SANDAG) and the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority (VTA) and requires instead that the
agencies, with consent of the California Department of
Transportation (Caltrans), develop appropriate performance
measures for the HOT lanes; authorizes SANDAG and VTA to require
high occupancy vehicle lane (HOV) drivers to use electronic
tolling equipment for enforcement purposes in HOT lanes.
The Senate amendments extend the bill's provisions to include
HOT lanes established by SANDAG and to allow excess revenues
generated in the HOT lane corridors to be used for
transportation corridor improvements, in addition to the other,
already-authorized uses.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : Under existing law, HOT lane programs operated by
SANDAG and VTA are required to maintain LOS Level C or, under
certain conditions, LOS Level 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 Level C essentially
means traffic is stable and is at or near free-flow conditions.
LOS Level D indicates traffic flow is becoming unstable.
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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 Level C can be
interpreted as requiring very high speeds. When an 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 the request of SANDAG and VTA
to eliminate specific LOS requirements set forth in existing
law. SANDAG and VTA are seeking a more flexible,
corridor-by-corridor approach to managing their HOT lanes than
strict adherence to LOS standards can provide. Under this bill,
SANDAG and VTA, along with Caltrans, will develop performance
measures to optimize the operational efficiency of an entire
corridor. Federal requirements related to HOV lane degradation
will still apply.
Regarding electronic tolling equipment for HOVs, SANDAG, and VTA
intend to migrate to self-declaration switchable toll tags.
These tags 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. Switchable toll tags reportedly have many operational
benefits including enhanced automated 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
San Diego or Bay Area express lanes. If a 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.
SANDAG and VTA are concerned that the existing statutory
requirement that HOV drivers must have unrestricted access to
HOT lanes could impede their ability to require HOV drivers to
use a switchable toll tag. The bill remedies this concern by
specifically declaring that the agencies may require HOV drivers
to use toll tags for enforcement purposes.
Writing in support of this bill, the Metropolitan Transportation
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Commission (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, the Bay Area Toll Authority
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 technology to capture vehicle
identification information for vehicles without toll tags. For
these vehicles, Metro issues either a bill for the toll (along
with an offer to purchase a toll tag) or a fine (for repeat
offenders).
Related legislation: AB 1811 (Buchanan), Chapter 94, Statutes
of 2014, amended statutes related to HOV access on HOT lanes
operated by the Sunol Smart Carpool Lane Joint Powers Authority
(which oversees the California State Route 680 HOT lanes) and
the future Alameda County Transportation Commission HOT lanes on
California State Route 580. Similar to provisions in this bill,
AB 1811 allows 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 SANDAG and VTA to develop HOT lane
facilities for demonstration purposes, not to exceed four years.
Other HOT lane facilities were also specifically authorized.
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0004349