The Prospects for High Occupancy/toll (HOT) Lanes PDF Download

Author: Joy Dahlgren
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Express highways
Languages : en
Pages : 14

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Author: Kevin Edward McCarthy
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : High occupancy vehicle lanes
Languages : en
Pages :

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Outlines whether there have been any proposals to allow single occupant vehicles to use the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on Interstate 84 if the driver pays a toll, thereby creating high occupancy/toll (HOT) lanes.

Author: Ronald William Davis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781109395204
Category : High occupancy vehicle lanes
Languages : en
Pages : 117

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Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : High occupancy vehicle lanes
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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This report describes research sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to develop a decision-support tool to aid in evaluating key issues related to converting a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane to a high-occupancy/toll (HOT) lane. The tool includes three broad categories of factors to consider, including facility considerations, performance considerations, and institutional considerations. Finally, the research incorporates simple trade-off tools to allow TxDOT and local entities to assemble all relevant factors into an analysis to aid decision makers in evaluating the available options. The analysis tool was developed in Visual Basic.Net®. the program is called the High-Occupancy/Toll STrategic Analysis Rating Tool (HOT START), and it is designed to be easily tailored to local needs. The report also provides an application of the tool to a hypothetical freeway.

Author: United States. Federal Highway Administration
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : High occupancy vehicle lanes
Languages : en
Pages :

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Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : High occupancy vehicle lanes
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Author: Justice Appiah
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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In recent years, high occupancy/toll (HOT) lanes have gained increasing recognition as a potential method of managing traffic congestion. HOT lanes combine pricing and vehicle occupancy restrictions to optimize the demand for high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Besides having all the advantages of traditional HOV lanes, HOT lanes can also generate revenue to help finance various operation and maintenance programs. At present there are four fairly well established HOT lane projects in the United States: two in Houston, Texas, and one each in San Diego, and Riverside County, California. After 6 years in operation, Houston's HOT lanes receive comparatively lower patronage than the two California projects. An understanding of why people choose to use HOT lanes will be vital to improving the performance of existing HOT facilities and will also shed light on policy decisions regarding future HOT lane investments. This study examined the relative importance of different parameters which could be expected to influence the demand for HOT lanes using standard statistical and discrete choice modeling techniques on survey data from Houston's HOT lane users. The study showed that, controlling for other variables, trip length, the driver's perception of travel time savings offered by the HOT lanes, frequency of travel in the freeway corridor, trip purpose, and the amount of time spent on carpool formation were good predictors of HOT lane usage. Socioeconomic characteristics such as age and level of education were also good indicators of the frequency of HOT lane usage whereas household size, occupation, and hourly wage rate were not. Gender and annual household income were only loosely related to HOT lane usage. Inelastic responses to minor changes in the toll coupled by responses to a question regarding participants feeling towards the $2.00 toll, suggested that the toll was not a major deterrent to HOT lane usage. A primary deterrent was the need for one passenger to use the HOT lane when free use required two passengers. However, travelers who shared the toll with their carpool partners were likely to have made more frequent HOT lane trips than those who bore the entire cost.

Author: Behavior Research Center
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Express highways
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Author: Rahul Goel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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High-Occupancy toll (HOT) lanes allow lower-occupant vehicles (LOVs) to use a HOV lane for a fee, while maintaining free travel to qualifying HOVs. HOT lanes are gaining interest throughout the country as a strategy for meeting multiple performance objectives in congested urban freeway corridors. Currently there are ten fully operational HOT lanes around the country in seven different states and this research examined the nine of them (excluding I-35 W). Even with only a handful of operational HOT lane projects, there is great diversity in terms of HOT lane design and operations. With HOT lane implementation there are many issues, including: toll rates, vehicle occupancy requirement, number of access points, and safety. This research examined (i) the different factors which lead to the development of the HOT lanes in their respective corridors (ii) the objectives of the HOT lanes (iii) changes made in the corridor due to HOT lane implementation (iv) the different impacts of the HOT lanes and (v) the extent to which the objectives of the HOT lanes were achieved. Using three pairs of HOT lanes with similar design and operational characteristics, comparisons were made to examine the impacts of the similar HOT lanes in two different corridors. With the strict registration requirement for HOV3+ on the I-95 Express Lanes there were indications that some carpoolers broke up in to lower occupancy vehicles. Tolled access for HOV2s on I-95 as well as the SR 91 Express Lanes resulted in lower usage of the Express Lanes by the HOV2s (fewer than 30 percent of the total corridor HOV2s) as compared to a conventional HOV lane (60 percent) where HOV2 access is free. The effect of availability of transit on the HOT lanes can also be seen from SR 91 as compared to I-95. On SR 91, the Express bus does not use the Express Lanes and there was almost no change in its ridership after the Express Lanes were implemented. However, on I-95, the Express bus uses the Express Lanes and travel time of buses decreased by 17 minutes due to Express Lanes implementation. The Express bus ridership also increased by 30 percent. On the SR167 and I-25 HOT lanes, the exogenous factors like gas prices and economic recession seemed to influence the usage of the HOT lanes. In both the HOT Lanes, carpool usage was positively correlated to the gasoline prices. On I-25, the increasing unemployment rate coincided with the decreasing toll paying travelers. On SR 167 there were also indications of mode shifts among the transit, carpool and toll paying SOVs due to fluctuating gas prices. With declining gas prices, the transit and carpool usage went down while toll paying users increased. An inverse relationship between the convenience of access points and the safety perceived by the HOT lane users was found. For example, I-15 Express Lanes in Salt Lake City reduced the access points from unrestricted with the previous HOV lanes to limited with the Express Lanes. As a result, more predictable merging led to an increase in the perceived safety of the Express lanes as well as the speed of the corridor. On the other hand, some carpoolers mentioned not using the Express Lanes anymore because of access inconvenience. The access inconvenience was also mentioned by previous carpoolers in HOV lanes on I-95 as one of the reasons for not using the Express Lanes. These findings underscore the importance of outreach programs during the planning process of the HOT lanes to minimize the confusion among the previous users of the HOV lanes and spreading awareness among them regarding the increased safety benefits.

Author: U. S. Department Transportation
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781480264335
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
The purpose of this document is to provide information useful to States as they plan, design, operate, and manage HOV facilities. It is intended to be non-binding and should be construed as a rule of general applicability. This document provides examples for States to follow in evaluating proposed significant changes to the operation of an HOV lane, to include conversion of an HOV lane to a High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane. The FHWA supports HOV lanes as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly option to help move people along congested urban and suburban routes. As such, FHWA regulations at 23 C.F.R. 810.102 specifically provide that HOV lanes are eligible for Federal-aid participation. In locations where existing or anticipated excess HOV lane capacity is available, conversion to a HOT lane facility is encouraged as a way to increase throughput and to provide additional travel options for drivers. As part of an overall approach to respond to increased travel demand and address traffic congestion, HOV and HOT lanes can be a practical alternative to adding more general-purpose travel lanes. The FHWA encourages the implementation of HOV or HOT lanes as an important part of an area-wide approach to help metropolitan areas address their requirements for improved mobility, safety, and productivity, while also being sensitive to environmental and quality of life issues.