The California DOT released its final report this week evaluating the impact of the Orange County SR-91's high occupancy/toll lanes. On the highway, solo drivers who pay can share two set-aside lanes with carpools. The evaluation confirms that many commuters are willing to pay a premium to bypass chronic congestion, suggesting that roadway pricing could win support and help preserve highway capacity elsewhere.

On an average weekday, an estimated 13% of total SR-91 motorists choose to pay between $.60 and $3.20 to beat the jams in the road's general use lanes. Significantly, only 20% of SR-91 peak period travelers use the toll lanes on a daily basis, and 50% report using them once a week or less. The findings suggest that the HO/T lanes chiefly serve occasional users who ante up when time is pressing. The study also found that travelers of all income levels use the toll lanes. 25% of the lowest income travelers reported that they use the toll lanes "on a frequent basis." Overall, the study found widespread public acceptance of the HO/T concept.

This innovative approach used on SR-91 merits consideration on NYC's congested roads, including our region's underused HOV lanes. The politics of road pricing in the parts of the U.S. where it has been discussed suggest that certain interest groups, rather than the public at large, are the biggest blockers of road pricing experiments. The NY chapter of the AAA repeated its shop-worn "higher peak time tolls will punish motorists and be "grossly unfair" mantra again in its magazine this month.