BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1245
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
SB 1245 (Simitian) - As Amended: April 22, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 35-0
SUBJECT : High-occupancy toll lanes: high-occupancy vehicles
SUMMARY : Prohibits high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs) from being
charged a toll to use a high-occupancy toll (HOT) facility;
imposes restrictions and notification requirements on the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) related to
increasing vehicle occupancy level requirements for HOV lanes.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits a vehicle that has the required occupancy level
needed to travel in a high-occupancy (HOV) lane from being
charged to use the lane; this includes the use of HOT lanes,
which are HOV lanes that provide access to non-HOVs for a fee.
2)Exempts toll bridges from this prohibition.
3)Limits the ability of Caltrans to increase the required
vehicle occupancy level for HOV lanes; an increase in vehicle
occupancy requirements will only be allowed if it will
maximize person throughput on the impacted highway segment.
4)Requires Caltrans, at least 30 days prior to effecting a
change in HOV lane occupancy levels, to report the basis for
making the change to the appropriate legislative policy and
fiscal committees.
EXISTING LAW :
5)Authorizes Caltrans to establish HOV lanes but only after
completion of competent engineering estimates of the effect of
the lanes on safety, congestion, and highway capacity.
6)Requires Caltrans, whenever it authorizes preferential use of
highway lanes for HOVs, to obtain the approval of the relevant
transportation planning agency or county transportation
commission prior to establishing the HOV lanes.
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7)Specifically directs Caltrans, with certain restrictions, to
develop ridesharing programs and to construct HOV lanes with
the goal of reducing energy demands and automobile-caused
pollution.
8)Authorizes over a dozen specific high-occupancy toll (HOT)
lanes in Alameda, Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego,
and Santa Clara counties.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown, but SB 1245 will prevent Caltrans and
local transportation agencies from collecting tolls on HOVs,
resulting in a potential loss of future revenue.
COMMENTS : California has nearly 1,500 miles of existing HOV
lanes and an additional 2000 miles are being planned. HOV
systems are a traffic management strategy to promote carpooling
and bus patronage, improve reliability of travel time, improve
air quality, and maximize the efficiency of the freeway system.
The author has introduced this bill out of concern that Caltrans
and regional transportation agencies are increasingly looking to
HOT lanes as a source of revenue. A HOT lane facility can only
be successful if the lane has sufficient capacity to offer
access to non-HOVs for a fee. One way to create additional
capacity is to increase the HOV occupancy level requirements.
As occupancy level requirements increase, the number of HOVs in
the lane decreases, at least initially, and HOT lanes can "sell"
the freed up capacity to non-HOVs for a fee.
The author seeks to avert this pressure by prohibiting Caltrans
from increasing vehicle occupancy level requirements unless it
determines that the change will maximize person throughput on
the affected highway. Furthermore, he seeks to establish a
process by which HOV occupancy level requirements may be
increased and to daylight proposed increases by requiring
Caltrans to report to legislative policy and fiscal committees
30 days in advance of a change.
On the state's existing toll facilities, tolling policies for
HOVs are not uniform. For example, on the South Bay Expressway
in San Diego, HOVs must pay the full toll rate. The 91 Express
Lanes in Riverside and Orange County offer vehicles with three
or more persons free passage during most hours, and a 50%
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discounted rate during highly congested hours. Beginning July
1, 2010, HOVs on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will be
required to pay 50% of regular toll rate during congested
periods.
The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), writing in
opposition to this bill, argues that when Caltrans seeks to
change the vehicle occupancy requirements for an HOV lane, its
guidelines require multiple factors to be considered, such as:
maximizing vehicle throughout, maintaining levels of service
standards, and coordinating with other HOV lanes in the region.
Forcing Caltrans to limit its consideration for changing HOV
occupancy levels based solely on people throughput discounts
other important considerations.
Committee concerns:
9)Under this bill, HOVs cannot be charged a toll; hence, the
full burden of toll payment and future toll increases will be
born by non-HOVs. In conversations with the author's office,
staff suggests that providing free passage to HOVs is
appropriate given that those drivers "have already paid for
the lanes" (presumably through taxes) and ought not to be
required to pay for them again. Why that burden should be
transferred entirely to single-occupancy vehicles, that have
"paid for the lanes" in an identical fashion is unclear.
10)Prohibiting HOVs from being tolled could have the perverse
affect of eliminating discounts for HOVs on toll lanes. A
toll facility that offers a discounted toll rate to HOVs could
be considered a HOT lane and, under this bill, will be allowed
free passage. As a result, toll operators will be discouraged
from offering discounted rates for HOVs.
11)Limiting increases in occupancy levels only to situations
where Caltrans determines that the change will maximize person
throughput is unwise. In addition to the nearly 1,500 miles
of existing HOV lanes in California, another 2,000 lane are
planned. Presumably, some of these new lanes will be adjacent
to existing lanes. Occupancy level requirements should be
able to be set to provide continuity among the highway
segments, among other factors that may appropriately apply.
12)This bill seeks to provide greater legislative oversight when
changes are proposed to HOV occupancy level requirements.
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Existing state and federal law, policy, and guidelines already
require that any significant operational change proposed for
an HOV facility be reviewed and approved by the Federal
Highway Administration, Caltrans, and the regional
transportation agency. Significant operational changes to HOV
lanes are seldom made and, when they are, they involve
substantial public outreach and notification as well as
significant costs (to modify signage, for example). Further
oversight seems unnecessary.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
California Department of Transportation
Orange County Transportation Authority
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093