![]() ![]() ![]() The Bay Area, for instance, lacks adequate housing in its two major job hubs - Silicon Valley and San Francisco - making for longer commutes from the suburbs. Traffic has been exacerbated by the imbalance of jobs and housing in some areas, said John Goodwin, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in San Francisco. The rule was made about a decade ago after California legislators wanted to allow solo drivers of electric vehicles to use the carpool lanes.Īs electric vehicles have grown in popularity, carpool lanes across the state have become more clogged, said Joe Rouse, chief of Caltrans’ Office of System Operations. Department of Transportation, which was used to convert 11 miles of carpool lanes on the 110 Freeway and 14 miles on the 10 Freeway into price-managed express lanes, Metro spokesman Rick Jager said.Īccording to the OCTA, 75% of carpool lanes in Orange County are congested during rush hour and the lanes fail to meet federal standards mandating that vehicles move at a minimum of 45 mph 90% of the time in peak hours. Since then, it has become more difficult to get approval on projects that don’t reduce greenhouse gases, said John Standiford of the Riverside County Transportation Commission.Ībout a decade ago, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or Metro, received a $210-million congestion-reduction demonstration grant from the U.S. Gavin Newsom recently issued an executive order to spend money on projects that reverse the effects of greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation. State and federal goals to reduce the effects of climate change have contributed to the explosion of toll lane projects across California. The decrease in traffic would correspond with a 9% increase in transit ridership, a 7% increase in biking and a 7% increase in walking inside the zone, according to the study. of Governments, a $4 fee to drive into a 4.3-square-mile area of West Los Angeles during weekday rush hour could almost immediately reduce traffic delays and miles driven there by more than 20%. ![]() “People who study congestion have known for a long time that the only thing is dynamic pricing.”Īccording to a recent study by the Southern California Assn. “What happens on the 405 every day is what happens at Best Buy and Target on Black Friday,” he said. Michael Manville, an associate professor of urban planning at UCLA, said those who can afford to pay the fees are able to avoid congestion for a reliable daily commute, while presumably lessening traffic for those who don’t pay and use the general lanes, he said. They bring needed revenue for new transportation projects while also putting a higher price tag on driving solo. The moves have sparked opposition, with some saying drivers should not have to pay tolls in the lanes after already paying for the construction of the freeways themselves through taxes.īut there is increasing consensus that high-occupancy toll lanes - which reserve certain parts of freeways to carpools and solo drivers paying tolls - are a key solution. County line, costing $223 million to $779 million, according to Caltrans. Another proposal would add toll lanes to the 5 Freeway between Red Hill Avenue and the L.A. County officials are even considering adding toll lanes to the 405 in the congested Sepulveda Pass, and later, on the 105 and 605 freeways. Sticker transponders can be used to pay tolls on every tolled bridge, lane and road in California.ĭrivers with sticker transponders pay the full toll regardless of eligibility.Ī switchable transponder can be obtained by opening up an account with one of California’s other tolling agencies.L.A. Prior to starting each trip, it is the driver's responsibility to indicate the number of occupants in the vehicle by moving the switch to the appropriate setting (1, 2, 3+).ĭue to processing and fulfillment delays, switchable FasTrak® transponders are out of stock until September 2020. To be eligible for free or discounted toll rates, drivers need a switchable FasTrak transponders (also called FasTrak Flex ®) that has a small black switch that can be moved to indicate the number of occupants in the vehicle. On some of California’s express lanes, qualifying carpools and other select vehicles are eligible for free or discounted toll rates. It's important to get a transponder from the agency that operates the bridge, lane or road that you’ll use most, because each tolling agency has its own rules and minimum requirements. ![]()
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