BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2090
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2090 (Fong)
As Amended March 27, 2014
Majority vote
TRANSPORTATION 14-1 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Lowenthal, Linder, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, Allen, |
| |Achadjian, Ammiano, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Bloom, Bonta, Buchanan, | |Calderon, Campos, |
| |Daly, Frazier, Holden, | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| |Wagner, Nazarian, | |Holden, Linder, Pan, |
| |Patterson, Quirk-Silva | |Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, |
| | | |Wagner, Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Gatto | | |
| | | | |
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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 consent of 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 in HOT lanes.
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. Route 101 may extend into San Mateo
County, under certain conditions.)
2)Requires VTA to ensure that its HOT lane program maintains LOS
Level C or LOS Level 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.
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4)Authorizes states, under the federal Moving Ahead for Progress
in the 21st Century Act, 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
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 : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor absorbable costs for Caltrans to review and
provide consent for VTA's revised HOT lane performance measures.
COMMENTS : Under existing law, VTA's HOT lane program is
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.
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
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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
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
Bay Area 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.
VTA is concerned 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 toll tags for
enforcement purposes.
Writing in support of this bill, the Metropolitan Transportation
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 (BATA)
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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) of the current
legislative session 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 this
bill, AB 1811 is intended to allow these agencies to require
HOVs to use electronic transponders for enforcement purposes as
well. AB 1811 is pending in the Assembly Transportation
Committee.
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. Route 101 in Santa Clara County to
extend into San Mateo County, under certain conditions.
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0003140
AB 2090
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