HOT (High-Occupancy Toll) lanes are a new variation on High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes and often work in conjunction with them. HOV lanes are designed to relieve traffic congestion by providing a specially designated lane for cars with multiple passengers. The idea is to get people to carpool so there are fewer cars on the road and, therefore, less congestion and pollution overall. While these lanes were once considered innovative, it turns out the benefits of HOV lanes are marginal at best, and they may be underused during peak traffic times.
Pay-per-use HOT lanes promise to make better use of HOV lanes, increase capacity more efficiently than conventional lanes, and “reduce the number of lanes on new highways by limiting peak-hour demand,” says transportation expert Robert Poole of Reason Foundation.
Citing Poole’s research, Benita Dodd of the Georgia Public Policy Institute argues that those sprawling urban areas, like Atlanta and Charlotte, that characterize the “New South” could benefit greatly if they converted their HOV lanes into HOT lanes. Writes Dodd:
“To be considered a good performer, an HOV lane needs to carry about 950 vehicles per hour. … Georgia Department of Transportation counts show that the metro area’s busiest HOV lanes — northbound and southbound I-75/85 at 14th Street — average 582 cars per hour, vs. the 12 general-use lanes that each average 1,205 cars per hour. Atlanta’s busiest HOV lanes, in other words, average just 48 percent of the traffic of a general-use lane.”
Critics of HOT lanes fear that they will serve to improve traffic conditions only for those who can afford to pay. Others note that, as taxpayers, the commuters on these roads have already paid for them once. With HOT lanes, they would be asked to pay again.
Supporters of HOT lanes argue that these lanes:
EXPERIENCES IN OTHER STATES. Most HOV-to-HOT conversions pay for themselves within two years. For example, San Diego’s I-15 toll revenues range between $1.3 milion to $2.2 million per fiscal year. According to Michael Replogle of Environmental Defense, “On California’s Route 91, diversion of traffic onto HOT lanes has reduced congestion on the entire road and increased the number of passengers
per car to 1.6, compared to the average of 1.2.” Texas uses HOT lanes on I-10, and Virginia is expected to complete an I-64 HOT lane by 2010.
With the introduction of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technology, HOT lanes can be made even more efficient and effective. In areas like San Diego, HOT lanes employ variable pricing algorithms that allow drivers to pay more or less according to traffic conditions. If the HOT lane is full and not moving much faster than conventional lanes, drivers will pay a lot less (say 25 cents). If traffic is moving more quickly in the HOT lane than in the conventional lanes, drivers can chose to pay more to use the lane (say $3). Drivers can also prepay with transponder cards and other devices that eliminate the need for entry booths like those found at tollways.