A FasTrak express lane and sign on Highway 101.
While express lane ridership increased from last year’s second quarter to this year’s, the county is still having trouble verifying if carpoolers are being truthful about the number of people in their vehicles.
Drivers with three or more passengers can travel the express lanes toll-free by toggling a declaration on their FasTrak. Two-person carpools receive a 50% discount, while single-occupancy vehicles pay full price, which averaged $4.05 northbound and $5.29 southbound last quarter.
“We are seeing an increase in the amount of people who are identifying themselves as HOV-3, so those are folks that are electing on their transponders that they are 3+,” Program Director Kim Comstock said during a recent TA board meeting. “We’re seeing an increase of 3.6% compared to last year.”
But the approach is mostly based on an honor system, which has cast doubt on the accuracy of the carpooling data among, given that nearly half of express lane trips are toll free.
California Highway Patrol has more recently had more availability to enforce express lane violations, according to the presentation, and out of the 971 enforcement contacts, about 72% involved a citation directly connected to the number of vehicle occupants.
The TA has been concerned about the accuracy for some time, but recent data from CHP data confirms the issue isn’t resolving on its own and may necessitate more investment in better monitoring and tracking capabilities.
“That would require next steps of video occupancy detection and other enforcement strategies that are tied directly to the toll system,” Comstock said.
While the Express Lanes Joint Powers Authority has an ongoing contract with CHP related to enforcement, the HOV citation revenue issued by CHP goes directly to the state, not the county.
Transit advocates are also paying close attention to the congestion, pricing and enforcement data of the current express lanes, which opened about three years ago and stretches 22 miles on Highway 101 from the Santa Clara County line to Interstate 380. Starting around 2020, the San Mateo County Transportation Authority began conducting research on expanding the project north of the interstate, either by converting an existing lane into an express lane or constructing a brand-new one.
Many advocates have opposed the plan, especially a version that would widen the highway by constructing a new lane, citing a lack of data on whether the current express lanes have in fact reduced congestion, as the agency has touted less traffic and more carpooling and transit use as primary goals of the initiative.
According to the presentation, average daily trips on the express lanes increased 2% year over year, with the speed in express lanes averaging about 8 to 10 mph quicker than non-express lanes during peak hours.
Note: The story has been updated to reflect that the Express Lanes JPA has a contract with CHP, not the TA.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
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(4) comments
What! Express lane violators who, with the flip of a switch/dial, can ride for free? Say it isn’t so. Isn’t it understandable that people forget to flip their switch/dial from their previous carpool trip (at least that’s what they may say)? Perhaps law enforcement can provide tallies of what excuses are given when they catch people. Or what political bent violators are. And their occupation. I could be wrong but if Democrats aren’t willing to stand up for law and order, I’m betting they’re the majority of perpetrators. As for video, I’m not sure if that helps. Many folks have darkened windows. Maybe x-ray or heat sensing technology?
Why go to Democrats and republicans? It's people. And I'm sure the issue is nuanced. That said, people should do the right thing and be good citizens. Neither party has a monopoly on virtue.
No multi-million dollar studies are needed to determine whether toll lanes reduce congestion, they DO NOT. The day the switch was flipped and toll lanes were opened three years ago was the day that congestion started. When one lane is not used, except for the cheaters, it means that 20-25% of the lanes are not used, thus all cars are crammed into 3 or 4 lanes, rather than 4 or 5 lanes. The main purpose of adding toll lanes was to employ union workers so unions could line the pockets of politicians and keep democrats in power. And yes Kevin, we need to go there, the democrats own the sanctuary lanes.
That is correct. These HOT lanes were never meant to reduce congestion, those were a play by Papan, Medina, Canepa to push a highway-widening through, that directly sabotaged Caltrain ridership.
And who is in charge of Caltrain ridership? The answer is David Canepa and Rico Medina.
So why would two YIMBY Democrats in charge of public transportation push so hard to sabotage Caltrain ridership? This fall they will ask for more money to "bail out poor Caltrain" - that money will then find its way into the next useless highway-widening harming more Equity Focus Areas. And the Democrat's game to increase the 'affordability-crisis' starts again.
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