BUILDING A CASE FOR HOT LANES: A NEW APPROACH TO REDUCING URBAN HIGHWAY CONGESTION
Increasingly, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are being called into question. Transportation researchers find them to be of limited value in relieving congestion, and elected officials are under increasing pressure to convert these limited-access lanes into general-purpose lanes. A number of metro areas are experimenting with a different alternative: opening up these limited-access lanes to paying customers. The new approach is called high-occupancy/toll (HOT) lanes. As of early 1999, two such projects are in operation in California and another in Texas. Because they give motorists a choice between (1) continuing to use general-purpose lanes at no direct charge and (2) using express lanes at a specific, direct price, HOT lanes are an example of "value pricing" (charging a price only for a higher level of service).
- Record URL:
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Corporate Authors:
Reason Foundation
3415 S Sepulveda Boulevard, Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA United States 90034 -
Authors:
- Poole, R W
- Orski, C K
- Publication Date: 1999-4
Language
- English
Media Info
- Features: Figures; Tables;
- Pagination: 28 p.
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Expressways; High occupancy vehicle lanes; Toll roads; Traffic congestion; Urban highways; Value of service pricing
- Geographic Terms: California; Texas
- Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I73: Traffic Control;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00763735
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: Policy Study 257
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: May 10 1999 12:00AM