The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Operational decision · 1999-2006
San Diego priced its I-15 HOV lanes dynamically and cut delays
San Diego's FasTrak sold empty HOV seats to solo drivers at a live price; use rose 143% and tolls refunded a bus line.
San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) · Caltrans
the move
San Diego's I-15 had high-occupancy lanes that ran below capacity in the peak while the free lanes jammed, so the lane's spare seats were being wasted.
In April 1999 SANDAG opened the lanes to single-occupant vehicles for a toll that rose and fell with real-time congestion, keeping the express lanes flowing while charging only those who chose to buy in.
By September 2003 about 24,700 transponders were issued, daily express-lane traffic reached 22,382 vehicles, a 143% rise from the 9,200 before pricing, with 79% still carpools and 21% paying drivers.
why it works
- A dynamic price kept the priced lanes free-flowing instead of letting them congest like the main lanes.
- Carpools and buses still travelled free, so the policy did not take away existing access.
- Toll revenue funded the Inland Breeze express bus, so pricing improved transit as well as driving.
- Surveys found low-income users supported the pricing more than high-income ones, defusing the equity objection.
what transfers
When a scarce asset has spare capacity, pricing the overflow to whoever values it most turns an idle lane into revenue and keeps it flowing.
what came after
FasTrak users saved up to 20 minutes versus main-lane travelers; tolls generated roughly $2.2 million in 2003, half of it funding the Inland Breeze express bus and the rest covering the California Highway Patrol and a customer service centre.
references
- Converting HOV lanes to HOT lanes - California: HOT Lanes on I-15 in San Diego
- Early HOV to HOT conversion projects implemented in San Diego
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